Polo! (how many RPs do you do at any one time? xD)

“Charlie.. Look at me. Listen to me…”
I sniffed, scrunching my eyes closed tightly which caused yet more tears to flood down my flushed, hot cheeks. I didn't want to look at him... There had been a short silence between the space of when I had spoken and he had, and I had a feeling I knew what he'd been thinking.
The only thing I have left to live for... The only thing...
I'd regretted those words the minute they left my mouth. They were untrue... So untrue, yet I couldn't take them back. I'd spent so many intense moments thinking of my mother, my last remaining family, and the fact that I was going to lose her if I wasn't careful. I had a feeling that Kougu's father's words were still stuck inside my head, embedded, so no matter how many times he tried to persuade me otherwise, I couldn't stop it. So many times had his father mentioned family, making a living and providing for our loved ones, that I had got so caught up with it all I'd totally forgotten how important Kougu was to me. I'd need time to recover from the previous incident, he had to understand that. My feelings for him had been plucked about, little bits taken out and messed about with like cells in a science lab. One kiss - no matter how true, how emotional – wouldn't be able to fix the damage that had been done in such a small time scale. I'd need time to think things through...
I flinched just slightly as I felt Kougu's delicate touch cup around my chin and lift my gaze up to meet his. “Let me help you. I’m here for you – I want to be here for you… Why do you think it nearly destroyed me a moment ago when you were trying to push me away? That’s why I didn’t want you going to see him. It was selfish… I was scared to lose you. I still am…”
What? What did he mean 'scared to lose me'? I wasn't going anywhere...
I inhaled a long, groggy breath and rubbed my blistery eyes with the heel of my hand. It was going to be okay, he said. He was here for me... So why was it that I felt so doubtful? Of course, I knew he would always keep a promise, but if he was able to hide things from me then who knows what he could lie about?
“But you've made your deal with him now, right? And he almost turned you against me, but... Well, that's behind us now.”
Was it?
“You beat him - he'll gladly acknowledge defeat. One thing I'll say for him - he plays by the rules. He makes them, sure - but he doesn't make them to be bent or broken. Everything is a game for him - the world is his chessboard, and the people on it his pieces. He thinks he can manipulate us as he sees fit - and the frightening thing is, he can. Hell, a few well picked words and he had me turning my gun on myself...”
I swallowed thickly, the memory of Kougu propped up against that crisp white wall soaked in blood flashing in my mind. The look his father had given me when he'd walked out of his office...
Yet almost the minute I saw that man's face, I forgot all of that. I'd tried, of course, to show him that I remembered what he was capable of. I'd mentioned it, too. But somehow – as Kougu had said – with the right choice of words he had me forget all that had happened, all he had done to Kougu. It didn't matter how horrific, how inhuman his actions had been. He had me forget every stinkin' one.
So was I just gullible, or was he just very, very clever?
Perhaps it was both, I didn't know. What I did know was that I couldn't let myself be alone with that man ever again. If I ever had the need to confront him again, I would do so with Kougu by my side.
But what if he started getting at Kougu again? What if he persuaded him to shoot himself again, right in front of me?
Oh god... I really had got myself dug deeply into this one, hadn't I?

“The point is, you've got the house now - right? He can't take it back. Even if he could, he wouldn't. Just don't give him the chance to get inside your head again. He's dangerous, Charlie. I'm living proof...”
Well, I knew that much. But Kougu knew fair well that it was easier said than done. He made it sound so easy... Yet it was so damn hard... Surely he knew that I didn't have the strength to argue with such a man? I was as gullible as a lemming...
Yep, that's me, alright. A small, furry, thickset rodent that hides at the first sign of danger, but will follow it's leader off the edge of a cliff if that's what it's been told to do. It was pathetic how little control I had, mostly due to the years of being ordered around by Jimmy and my mother without having much of a chance to think by myself. When was I going to learn that if things were going to work out I'd have to stand up for myself?

“As for your mother, I understand how much she means to you, and I'll support you no matter what you decide, okay? Whether you want to put her into the hospital, or hire a personal carer... I wish I could make her better myself, but... Unfortunately I can't help you on that one. I'll pay for whatever care you choose, though.”
What? Was he serious?
I stared dumbly at him, wondering where on earth he'd find the money to hire a personal carer. Then I remembered. Whether he looked it or not he was a rich man, perhaps even a millionaire. His father gave him all the savings he needed to last him the rest of his life. Of course he had the money. However, I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for the fact that I was going to cause him to spend so much money. His father was alright, he was a business man; his palms were laced in silver, copper and gold. But Kougu, although the view was arguable, was just a normal human being. He didn't have a job, didn't have any way of making a living. How was it fair it I took his money for my own personal matter?
His hands set onto my shoulders, his grip becoming heavier and heavier until it felt like his long fingers were ready to bruise my skin. I winced slightly, just slightly, and looked him right in the eye, matching his firm gaze with a slightly softer hint. I could tell before he even said a word that he was being truthful, that none of this was a bluff. I knew he would be true to his word, when had he ever lied to me?
Ah...
“Let me help you.” he stated firmly, his gaze hardening to one of such determination I nearly shuddered at the sigh. “You're not alone, Charlie. I'll do anything for you - so stop stressing, stop worrying, stop making every situation more difficult than it has to be. Just trust in me...”
“I do trust you.” I said quietly before I had a chance to think the words through. It occurred to me then how misleading I must have seemed, one minute not believing a single word that left his mouth then the next telling him that I trusted him. Hadn't it been just a few minutes ago that I'd totally turned my back on him, treating him like dirt?
He ran a bony thumb across my cheek, wiping away a single tear that I'd barely recognised being there – I must have become numb to them, by that point, since I'd noticed I'd been crying a lot.
“I'm yours. Completely yours. You can use me at your disposal.”

Like a frail leaf in the wind I shook my head, my trembling body finally managing to control itself after Kougu's reassuring speech. I swallowed hard, cleared my throat and pulled away from him, placing a hand on each of his and gently placing them by his sides. I would accept his help, gladly. But there was no way I was letting him give himself to me as if I was some Victorian queen and he was my servant, whom I could have beheaded simply for one wrong move he made towards me. I was his friend,m and if anything, I owed him. Not the other way round.
“Stop it.” I whispered gently, wiping the tears from my bloodshot eyes. “Just... Stop it. Stop throwing yourself around for me like that. I'll happily accept your help, but not unless I can give you something in return. The way I treated you earlier was unfair, I know that, and I'm sorry. If either of us owes the other anything, it's me that should be owing you.” I raised my chin in slight determination and shrugged, trying to get across that the topic wasn't up for argument.
“That's how it's going to be. I won't accept anything other.”
I took his hand once more, then squeezed assuringly. “Thank you. I know I should have trusted you all along. I shouldn't have listened to him in the first place... I tried, really I tried. But... Well, you know how it is with him.”
I pulled an uncomfortable face and sighed.
“I... I-I was just thinking, Since you know him better than I do, like I said, could you... Maybe... Show me what to do in case I have to confront him again? I'm not sure I'd be able to trust myself on my own with him... Then, of course, I'd repay you. I don't know what I could do, but I'll give whatever you have in mind a go.” I suggested, an honest smile tweaking my lips.
Geez... I was glad he'd snapped me out of what I had been thinking before. I wasn't sure what his father had done so well to persuade me to think that way – I'd been in questioning rooms, hand-cuffed, surrounded by police before and they'd not managed to persuade me to confess on any of the crimes I'd committed. So what had that man done?
Or was I really just a gullible, thick-witted lemming?



Where the hell was Danny?
Jimmy brought the thin, dirty-white cigarette to his lips and inhaled the fumes with a dissatisfied scowl. They'd been waiting for what seemed like hours, outside the tiny little corner shop, Jordan and Mike both sat casually on the brick window sill just below the green shade cover, all smoking Cannabis. The old shop keeper had come out a couple of times to tell them all to get lost, that he would call the police if they didn't shoo pretty damned sharpish, but he was met only by a chorused chuckle started by Jimmy that had been passed along the three young men and a few moments of verbal abuse until he huffed and cowered inside once more. (typical gangs )
The police weren't coming. After all, they'd done nothing wrong, had they? What was so illegal about sitting out side a corner shop? Of course, the Cannabis was a problem. But Jimmy knew there were far more dangerous drugs out there and, besides, the old punk wouldn't dare tell on them. He knew just like anyone else in this town what would happen if they were found to try and get him done with the coppers.
All anyone needed to know what that there would be a lot of money needed to pay for the damages, had they had the nerve to get him done with the law. The law loved him.
Damn it. Where was that little twiglet?
“Yo Jimmy, look.” Jordan's low, rumbling voice stopped his thoughts and he glanced at the slightly younger male with a curious frown. Jordan was staring, pale-face, at something coming up behind them. He outstretched his hand, raised a finger and pointed to where he was looking, and Jimmy spun round to see what his mate was looking so scared of.
A van. A white van.
And it was coming straight to towards them.



Antonio's lips twisted into a cruel smile as he watched James Mackintosh's face slowly be drained of blood as he recognised the vehicle approaching. That's right, my lad. He thought with a smirk, slowly pressing his foot down on the 'break' pedal, causing the van to slow increasingly until he stopped outside the old corner shop. You thought you'd seen the last of me, eh? You thought I'd let you get away with what you called me back at my hideout? A Spanish dog? Well I'll show you what it's truly like to be a dog, you English scum bag. I'll show you what it looks like to die like one.
He rested an elbow on the sleek, black arm rest to his left and twisted his body round to glance at the tiny number of 'hermanos' sat in the back of the van. He'd lost a great deal due to the bunch that had run from Kougu back at that tiny, cottage pub. He'd had every stinkin' one of them shot dead for proving their cowardice and shaming him and themselves like they had. He had left a couple of his dearest friends back at home, along with his wife and two daughters, meaning there was only around four of them left, and that was including his son, Alfredo.
His son... Somehow those words didn't sound as appealing as they once had. His son... The son that had cried and begged and pleaded to be set free, who had trembled at his enemy's hand. Then, when Kougu had disappeared, he even had the nerve to turn his back on his own father and speak negatively of him. He could remember that queer night like it had happened just the day before. It nearly had. But still...

Antonio awoke from a deep sleep, his head throbbing. With a groan, he groggily pushed himself onto all-fours, when a gruff, yet slightly high-pitched voice rumbled through his ear drums almost as loudly as his pulse hammering at his brain.
“They're gone.”
Tony turned his head to see his son sat in the corner, hugging his knees, eyes down-cast. His knuckles were white due to his tight grip around his wrists, and his lips were sunken into a stiff line.
“They've been gone a while,” his son stated in the same flat tone. Well, Tony had figured that one out. But how long had he been unconscious? Swiping the back of his hand over his oddly sweaty forehead, Antonio clumsily sat his weak form into a sitting position, just on the wall opposite to his son.
“We'll get him back, Alfredo. Just like we always have with the rest of them.” Tony assured him. As his son began to shake his head, he decided he'd try and keep talking. “Kougu is only one man with many weaknesses. Despite his statements, I know he cares about Charlie. He will have others, believe me. They are yet to be discovered.”
“No.” The young boy grunted, still not meeting his father's eye.
Tony frowned. “You doubt my knowledge?”
To his surprise, Alfredo began to chuckle. It was a bitter, meaningless chuckle, and to see his own son laughing at him made him uncomfortable. Alfredo shook his head and looked down at his hands, the light chuckling fading to a deep, empty silence. “No, father. I doubt you in general.” He said finally, then, with the help of the gold-painted bar above his head, pulled himself to his feet. Antonio stared, dumb-founded. Alfredo had never dared talk to him like that before. He'd not so much as spoken a negative word to his father's face until that moment and actually, it scared him.
“You said this was going to work. You were so sure... Yet look what happened.” Alfredo gestured around the empty room around him. “And d'you know what? I didn't even want to come in the first place. But you and your 'hermanos' told me it was going to be just like anyone else you had ever killed. You said it like it would be such a breeze to kill this man.”
Antonio struggled shakily to get to his feet, and had to lean on a wooden table for support. “But it will be!” He retorted. “It will be. As I said, we'll just need to find that boy's weaknesses...”
“Weaknesses!” Alfredo's voice squeaked. The poor boy's voice box had only recently started to break. (Nawww ) “Who cares about f*cking weaknesses? That man... That mad man could have killed me. I could have died. Don't you get it?” He took a furious step towards his father, his deep, chocolate eyes blazing. “What did you gain tonight, father? You lost so much; so many men, Kougu... But what did you get out of this? Nada.” He swiped his finger in a straight line as if to demonstrate.
“Son, sometimes... Sometimes sacrifices are needed to win in the end. Those men will regret running from me, and besides, they're ten a penny. They're disposable...”
“I'm disposable!” Alfredo spat. “Would you get rid of me in order to win the final battle, eh? Pa?”
Antonio glared at him, opened his mouth to argue. But his silence had said enough. Before he had the chance to say any more, Alfredo took a final step towards him, and it was the first time he'd been so close to his father since he had supposedly reached manhood. It surprised him how tall the boy had actually become. Another inch or so and he would be towering over Tony...
“Forget it.” He growled. “I'm out. I'm sick of this... Being something I'm not.” He gestured over his shoulder to the gun still sat innocently on the floor where Alfredo had dropped it when Kougu had grabbed him. “I will no longer be your whipping boy. The next time you gamble...” He shoved his father roughly backwards, then snarled furiously in his ear, “Bet your own life.” (Haha, The Incredibles do have some awesome lines )
With that, he stormed out, leaving his father to stare at the sleek, black pistol - which he had wished day after day that he would once see his son use – sat, lonely, on the creaky, wood-paneled floor.

Antonio ran his eyes over his son's curled up figure, recognising him being in the exact same vulnerable position as he was back at the pub. His eyes were still down-cast, and he refused to speak a word to anyone. Persuading him to to come back certainly hadn't been easy...
He glanced at the boy's left cheekbone and spotted the ugly, dark bruise forming behind a rough gash close to his eye. He then saw the red mark on his lip, where his face had hit the ground. That boy had to know his place and where he stood with his father. He had to know not to talk to his honourable father like he had ever again.
Besides, he couldn't let his 'hermanos' think he was growing soft, and the boy was no exception.

He sighed and glanced over to another male sat close to a blackout window, a long machine gun fixed in place. At the back, just by the barrel, was a small device – one he recognised as a silencer. This meant when the bullets were fired they would make little to no sound, therefore would be undetected by any other passer-bys. Unless, that is, someone spotted the weapon... But he highly doubted that. The nib was only sticking out an inch or so out of the slightly open window.
“Luis.” Antonio ordered. The male looked at him. “Prepararse” The man nodded, set eyes on his target and awaited the signal.
“Open fire.” he barked and watched as the three antisocial young men swarmed like ants on an ant hill, two fell limp to the ground and Jimmy fled from the scene.

I spotted something out of the corner of my eye: a flash of grey, sandy brown and the faint sound of feet hammering on a cobbled ground.
Jimmy...
I swallowed a gasp, wondering what the hell he was doing. The I remembered, if he was running, he was in trouble. Whether that was with the police – although I highly doubted it – or with someone else, I didn't know. But he wasn't out to get me, at least.
He swung around a corner and began sprinting blindly towards us. Then, for some reason, he spotted Kougu and thought better of it. He skidded to a stop, staring at me for a moment, and it was then that I noticed an odd look of terror in his wide, silver-blue eyes. Jimmy Mackintosh was never scared...
He looked like he was mouthing something to me, but I couldn't quite make out what it was. I frowned at him, then turned back to Kougu. “Er... Could I meet you back at the house, Kougu? I think there's something I need to do...” My eyes fell back onto Jimmy, who was madly waving hand signals to me, seemingly gesturing for us to get the hell away. But he was alone... What the hell had happened to him?
What was going on?

When Charlie pulled away from him, Kougu felt a dull shock surge through him – settling as a grim weight in the pit of his stomach.
Why…? Again, she was pushing him away… Why? Why couldn’t he get through to her? Had she really stopped loving him completely? No! No, the kiss! The kiss had been real… But-
“Stop it.”
The words might have been harsh, but Charlie’s voice was gentle. Kougu calmed his frantic mind, his wide eyes relaxing slightly, and his tense muscles loosening – seeming to make him shrink by a few inches.
Her voice, so warm and gentle, reminded him yet again why he loved her so much. And now he realized it, she had not been pushing him away. Her hands remained on his, even though she had removed them from her shoulders.
Calmed and comforted, Kougu settled his thoughts and listened.
“Just... Stop it. Stop throwing yourself around for me like that. I'll happily accept your help, but not unless I can give you something in return. The way I treated you earlier was unfair, I know that, and I'm sorry. If either of us owes the other anything, it's me that should be owing you. That's how it's going to be. I won't accept anything other.”
“But-“ Kougu began, but seeing the blazing look in Charlie’s eyes, he quelled his tongue, and shrunk back into obedience like an unruly dog quailing before the fierce gaze of its master. “Okay.” He whispered quietly, his wide, affectionate eyes locked on Charlie’s face.
She took his hand then, and squeezed it reassuringly, and again Kougu relaxed – relishing the sort of care and consideration that he had been denied throughout his young life.
“Thank you. I know I should have trusted you all along. I shouldn't have listened to him in the first place... I tried, really I tried. But... Well, you know how it is with him.”
Charlie spoke again, and with a grim chuckle, Kougu nodded his agreement. “It’s impossible not to listen. He speaks straight to your innermost thoughts…” His lips formed a line much like a smile, but there was no happiness in his expression as he shook his head; just a grudging respect. A grudging, disgusted sort of respect…
“I... I-I was just thinking, Since you know him better than I do, like I said, could you... Maybe... Show me what to do in case I have to confront him again? I'm not sure I'd be able to trust myself on my own with him... Then, of course, I'd repay you. I don't know what I could do, but I'll give whatever you have in mind a go.”
Charlie smiled then, and Kougu felt his lips automatically mirroring the gesture – only this time it extended right to his eyes, spreading warmth through his expression. “Repay me…” He muttered, sounding faintly amused. “What could you possibly give me, Charlie…? All I want is you.” His smile widened, and he reached out for her hand. “But yes, I could show you all I know… Though I was never good at it.” He sighed quietly, then added in a low, grim tone. “Honestly, if he wants something from you, I don’t think there’s anything you can do to…” He trailed off mid-sentence, catching some sort of unexpected motion out of the corner of his eye.
He could hear footsteps. Somebody was running toward them… Somebody Kougu was sure he recognised.
Was that… ?
The youth skidded to a stop, gesticulating wildly – clearly flustered. Taking one look at his terrified features – Kougu’s guess was confirmed.
Jimmy was here.
Jimmy – looking more frightened than Kougu had ever seen him… The question was: Why?
“Er... Could I meet you back at the house, Kougu? I think there's something I need to do...”
These words caught Kougu by surprise. Taken aback, he could not react at first but to stare incredulously at Charlie.
Harsh words of stubborn denial leaped to his lips, but Kougu bit them back – attempting to use tact for once – and rethought what he wanted to say.
“I’m sorry, Charlie, but I must come with you. This looks serious, and I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you.” His well-spoken, polite words sounded somewhat rehearsed – giving the absurd illusion that he was some sort of prince making a speech. Strangely, despite the overly-prepared air of his words, he did not appear in the least insincere. As always, he meant everything he said with every fibre of his being.
“We should make haste…” He muttered, nodding toward Jimmy, who looked near ready to explode from fearful impatience. Clearly, something was terribly wrong.
Without waiting for Charlie’s permission – since he intended to accompany her regardless of whether or not she would allow it – Kougu let his fingers brush along her arm, guiding her gently with him, and fell into his long, loping jog-stride, catching up quickly to Jimmy, and all the while making sure he had Charlie close by his side.

As he began gaining on Jimmy, Kougu heard the roar of an engine nearby, and his head snapped back to look behind him.
A white van came roaring around the corner, turning so fast that it balanced on two wheels for a second – then lunged forward in pursuit.
Suddenly, Kougu was overcome by some familiar, vile instinct. It was sickening, really, that his entire childhood had been spent training for the sorts of situations that no normal child should ever have to face.
Then again, he had been robbed of the chance to be ‘normal’ even before birth. Still, the years of training had left him well prepared for moments like this.
“That way!” Kougu shouted to Jimmy, pointing to a nearby sidestreet. He quickened his pace, then hesitated a moment, swinging his arm out behind him like a relay sprinter trying to catch a baton. He grabbed Charlie’s fingers – his grip remarkably gentle considering the urgency of the situation.
He didn’t pull her forward, but his fingers guided and encouraged her gently – urging her to keep up as he sped up again – falling into step beside Jimmy now.

He heard a distinct metallic click over the roar of the engine behind him, and now Kougu’s grip became harsh. He jerked Charlie forward, and slowed his pace in the same instant so that she was in front of him – putting himself between her and the van.
As he had expected, a gunshot rang out, and he saw powered brick shower down as the bullet glanced the corner of the wall right beside his left elbow.
He chanced a brief glance over his shoulder – trying to work out who the shooter was – but there was no time for curiosity. The van was gaining on them.
“Over there!” He ordered, instinctively taking control of the situation.
His steps became lighter, bouncier, and he turned neatly off the street. With precisely accurate movements, he sprung into the air, just managing to grab the top of the huge wire mesh fence that separated the dingy sidestreet from the old junkyard – a place he knew for a fact had plenty of places to hide, and a number of emergency escapes, to boot. The problem was – getting into the place could be a mission.
He let his fingers grip the bar atop the wire, and with cat-like agility, swung himself over – dropping to the ground on the other side.
Without wasting a second in hesitance, he jerked a pocket-knife from his pocket (Funny, he couldn’t remember having put it there… It was a grim realisation to find that – out of habit – he automatically armed himself before leaving the house.) and threw it hard at the lock. It hit it’s mark perfectly, and the lock fell to the ground beside the now broken knife. With a resounding clatter, the thick chain binding the gate slithered down to curl about the broken lock like a snake – letting the gate swing open.
“Hurry.” Kougu commanded, waiting in agitated stillness for Charlie and Jimmy – and rubbing his arm painfully. He had forgotten how out-of-shape he was… That throw had strained just about every muscle in his arm…
“Jimmy, have you got a gun?” Kougu asked as he fell into step beside the man – starting to jog again now that Jimmy and Charlie had caught up.

((Sorry, that was awful, and I was powerplaying rather a lot – but hey, at least it’s done, right? XD ))

((Posted. XD ))

((Woot! Well done, Polo! XD I loved it. Don't worry about the power-play, either. I can see how this will all fit, so... Yeah, well done I'm going to think up a reply now ^_^))

((Thank you. XD And well done to you for replying to the - for want of a better word - 'short' RP.

Can't wait for your reply! *Glomps* I'm so amped to be RPing with you again! ))

((Thank you I swear the reply looked shorter on Wordpad - this laptop does have MS Word - but the window is wider and the writing's much smaller, so it only used up about a 5th of the screen on there. XD

I have replied!!! ))

((...*Confused Polo*... XD I do not like Wordpad. O.o ))

“I’m sorry, Charlie, but I must come with you. This looks serious, and I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you.”
I barely heard him, for I was too busy trying to figure out what on earth was going on. Eyes locked on Jimmy, my frown furrowed into one of uncertainty as my eyes caught the sharp terror in his horror-stricken features. The blood had drained from his face, his hands were trembling and...Were they tears pricking at his eyes?
No... No, surely not. He must have got something caught in them. Dirt, maybe?
“We should make haste...”
I continued to stare, both shocked and slightly nervous at the fact that he was there, no more than four or five metres away from us both. His blotchy eyes flicked to Kougu just in time for them both to stare unblinkingly at each other, obviously unsure of how to react. Something passed between them; a message, a plea for help, Kougu nodded in response and turned back to me.
Without waiting for a reply he began forward towards Jimmy, dragging his fingers gently along my arm, gesturing for me to follow and we quickened into a jog towards Jimmy.
Just then, an engine roared furiously behind us and I turned my head just in time to spot a white van screeching around the corner towards us, tyres causing skid marks on the road and pavement, windows blacked out and a sharp, black nib poking out of one in the back. I didn't have the chance to even guess what it might have been, because Kougu and Jimmy had already begun sprinting down the street.
So that van was Antonio's van, yes? But why was he here? What could he possibly have done to make Jimmy so damn scared?
“That way!” Kougu ordered to Jimmy, who had been blindly running for his life in what looked like any old route, as long as he got away from who it was chasing him – he knew the streets better than many people out here, so straight away had an idea of where Kougu was headed. I noticed a questioning twitch of his eyebrows as his eyes followed Kougu's finger, but he didn't hesitate and ran down the narrow back road gladly.
Kougu's long fingers hooked onto mine and he yanked me in front of him. For a moment I didn't know why.
Then I saw the bullet. It skimmed his elbow and hit an old brick on the wall beside him, causing brown dust to shower to the ground. My eyes widened.
Antonio was trying to kill us.

“Over there!” Kougu ordered, more forcefully now, and in a flash made a motorbike turn away from the street and leapt into the air, reaching out and grabbing the top of a wire mesh fence surrounding an old junk yard. I winced at the sight of him, dangling, his fingers probably getting countless puncture wounds due to the sharp edges of the wire. But it wasn't long before he was up, and I caught sight of his torso beneath his large, baggy t-shirt and noticed his muscles begin to bulge through the skin. It was obvious how hard his poor muscles had to be working. For a skinny guy who thought eating as a chore as opposed to a way of living, it was surprising he had any muscles at all. Yet there he was, swinging his legs over the bar like a gymnast and landing with a dull 'thud' on the other side of the fence. I gaped unblinkingly at him, dumb-founded, just in time to hear a light 'clink' and the chain before us slither to the ground.
Beside me, Jimmy was staring at the chain as if it were a bomb ready to explode.”What the-”
The gates swung open. I grabbed Jimmy's hand and dragged him into the junk yard. I didn't bother trying to close them then, because the lock was off and there was no way of closing them. Besides, Antonio had a van. Even if we tried to lock the gates with a crowbar he'd get them open with a single hit. There was no point.
I heard Kougu say something to Jimmy and quickened my pace until I was beside them both to know what he was saying.
Jimmy shrugged, his lungs rattled dry of oxygen, and patted his pocket pointedly. “Just a BB gun.” He mumbled through breaths, blushing slightly. “We use 'em for target practice.”
A Gun? Kougu honestly thought we'd be able to out smart them with a single gun? Even if he did have immaculate aim, goodness knows how many men were in that van. It was big enough to fit a dozen in at a squeeze, but that was still enough to outnumber us, especially if they were all armed. We were dead, whichever way we looked at it. That as, unless, if we hid from them. It just depended on how patient Antonio was willing to be.
The roaring engine of the Spaniards' van echoed in the distance, and we knew there wasn't much time.
We followed the dusty road of the usual four-wheeled trucks that came in and out of the junk yard to dump rubbish and broken furniture until we reached the end, where there was a large, circular clearing surrounded by mounds of slate, bits of rusty metal and mouldy wood. To my left was the skeleton of an old motorbike, way beyond it's use-able years and in front, just beyond a mound of dust and steel cans sat a dark, blue velvet sofa, it's cover ripped and worn, the cushions flat and patchy due to weathering.
“Come on.” I murmured, gesturing for them both to follow. But Jimmy grabbed my wrist, stopping me in my tracks.
“No. Charlie, wait. We need to split up, otherwise if he finds one of us, he'll find us all. I'm not risking you getting caught.” He turned to Kougu. “You two go at one end, and I'll go at the other. Whatever happens, don't give yourselves away. Just... keep your heads down.”
He turned back to me, avoiding my eye. “He should leave you alone once he gets what he wants.”
I stared at him, noticing the slight redness in his frantic, bloodshot eyes. There was something he wasn't telling me.
I grabbed his hand before he could run away, trying desperately to read his uncharacteristically fearful expression. What on earth had been going on? And what did he mean 'what he wants'? What was Antonio after? “Jimmy.”
He sighed, then forced himself to look me in the eye. I saw then how red his eyes were, saw the glassy tint and the wetness around the perimeter of his eyelids. So he really had been crying... But why? He never cried. “Jimmy... What happened?”
He paused,eyes flicking between me and Kougu and shook his head. “Just find somewhere to hide and stay there. Don't come out until you're certain y-”
“Jimmy.” I said sternly, cutting him off. He couldn't just turn his back on me. Not when I was trying to help him.
He hesitated momentarily, looked down at the ground, bit his lip and sighed. “Jordan and Mike are dead.” He said flatly, and I saw tears begin to form further at his eyelids. He sensed this too, and turned away so Kougu couldn't see him, rubbing his raw eyes roughly with the bases of his fingers. It had obviously been a long while since he'd let out any form of sadness without it morphing into anger before he shed a single tear. Watching him in this state was just... Wrong.
I gasped suddenly, the information finally sinking in. Jordan... It seemed just that day we'd last seen each other, him on the motorbike with Jimmy, mumbling a shy 'I'll see you later' before following Jimmy out of that car park. Now he... He was dead?
Why him? Out of all of them, he had to be the most faithful, yet he could barely hurt a fly. And he'd always been nice to me...
Mike, I didn't know as well. But from what I could remember, he was a good guy. He was always the drugs provider, admittedly, and, like me, had stolen in the past. But he, too, didn't deserve death.
Was it Antonio? Had he killed them?
“Crap...” I whispered shakily, bringing a hand to my mouth. It really was war, now, wasn't it? People were getting killed... But over what? What was Tony's reason to kill two innocent young men?
Did he even have one?
“Right, come on.” I muttered to Kougu, jogging to a large mound of grey pebbles and dust – perhaps the unwanted remains from an old mine or something along those lines – and sat down, hugging my knees.
Now all there was left to do as wait.


Jimmy ran as quick as he could to the old, battered sofa and skidded to a stop, sitting down and curling up in a ball, back to back with the piece of furniture. His hands were trembling, his eyes hot with tears, and his whole body would not stop shaking. Every time he closed his eyes he saw them falling to the ground, mouths morphed into silent screams, their clothes drenched in blood.
He hadn't expected Tony to kill them. They weren't who he was after.
He was after Jimmy.
But Antonio knew straight away that they were friends of Jimmy's, and obviously he didn't like Jimmy any more. This was his way of paying him back.
Their deaths were his punishment. But he would pay his part later and he knew it.
A lump arose in his throat, and he had to swallow furiously to shift it out of his airways. He rubbed the tears from his eyes, but more took their place.
Two of his friends were dead. Because of him.
But more importantly, because of Antonio. And he would make that Spaniard pay, whatever the price.



The white van stormed through the metal gates, swerved around the dusty road and skidded to a stop at the large clearing. Antonio glanced around with a hawk-like glare, eyes not much more than slits on his toned head. He ran a hand over his dark, stubbly beard and turned to the hermanos behind him.
“Get out. Get your weapons at the ready and form a circle. If you catch any sort of movement, shoot it.”
They nodded in response.
“Kougu may be in here somewhere, so pay close attention for a tall, pale youth with messy, black hair. He's dangerous, but caught off-guard, he will be brought down.”
Alfredo snorted in the corner.
Ignoring the boy Antonio gestured for everyone to grab a gun and get out of the van. He waited until the last man was out – minus Alfredo, since he still couldn't get that coward to hold a gun after what happened last time – and locked the door behind him. He stood in the centre of the circle – or what was more of a triangle, being there only three men there to defend him – and they shifted to the centre of the clearing.
Antonio's dark eyes skimmed his surroundings, his dark hands hidden in the large pockets of his long, navy-blue coat. The Mackintosh was nowhere to be seen.
“Jimmy...” He called, his voice taunting ,patronising. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” He said this with the slight hint of a singing tone, raising his eyebrows and wheeling around on the spot in hope to catch a glimpse of someone hiding behind some old, tired object. No such look.
His lips teased a sneer, and he began to stomp his feet in a steady pulse.
“Fee, Fi, Foh, Fum...” He chanted, his beady eyes scanning the area, “I smell the blood of an Englishman!” The hermanos chuckled around him, eyes still set on their invisible targets. Antonio spun round to face a different spot of the junk yard. “Or two...” He spun again, his eyes narrowing further. “Or three...”
Pause.
They waited in silence for a few short moments. All the Spaniard could hear was the howling wind and his heavy breathing.
Then, from behind a sofa, Jimmy Mackintosh appeared.



Jimmy stormed towards them, a dull, black, hand-held pistol gripped tightly in one hand. He raised it to be pointing at Tony, his whole arm trembling. It was no use. He couldn't control his fury and hatred towards that evil b*st*rd any more.
His face was twisted in fury, his eyes still sore from crying. He looked like someone meant for a mental asylum, or a vampire deprived of decent blood to drink. The look of him would make anyone want to turn and run, but this just made Antonio laugh.
“They were defenceless!” Jimmy screamed, just as a 'hermano' pointed a larger gun at his chest. He wasn't yet close enough for it to affect his judgement, but it was definitely close enough to get a decent – if not fatal – shot. “You only wanted me, but no, that wasn't enough for you. So you had to start killing...” He paused for a deep breath, his chest heaving. He took a few steps closer until the tip of the Spaniard's gun was only metres away from him. “...Because that's the only thing you lot are good for.”
Saying nothing in response, Antonio ordered one of his men to shoot at Jimmy and watched with a smirk as the bullet caught his upper arm, ripped through his flesh and spurted out the other side. Jimmy dropped his weapon, crying in pain, and grasped the wound with his free arm. Blood trickled out of the dark hole and seethed through his fingers. He clenched his teeth, forcing back a cry in pain and doubled over.
Antonio snickered cruelly, stepped out of the little triangle of armed men – they obediently followed on after him and within seconds he was surrounded again – picked up Jimmy's weapon and glowered down at the pathetic blonde.
He curled his lip in disgust. Besides his own son he had not seen so much obvious weakness in one man before. Without so much as blinking he raised the gun handle in the air and struck it down on Jimmy's skull, causing him to grunt in pain and sink to his knees, his bloody fingers clutching his head, drenching his sandy-blond hair in a sickly crimson.


Antonio crouched down beside the young man, tossing the petty gun out of reach of them both so to not put any ideas into the weakling's head. Besides, he wasn't even half done with him, yet.
“Where's Charlie?” The Spaniard whispered slyly.
Jimmy clenched his teeth, and began to hiss through his teeth. “You killed them...”
Tony's brow furrowed, wondering what he was on about. Shaking his head, he repeated. “Tell me where she is, Mackintosh.”
“You didn't have to kill them...”
Ignoring him, Antonio continued. “If you tell me, I'll let you go.”
“...You could have just let them live, they're done nothing to you...”
Jimmy wasn't facing him, wasn't even looking at him. Antonio knew he wasn't listening on purpose, because he didn't want to tell him that he knew of Charlie's whereabouts. Well, if this guy was going to play difficult then Antonio would just have to use force.
Rolling his eyes as Jimmy continued to mutter helplessly under his breath, Antonio took one of his 'hermanos'' pistols, straightened to a stand and pointed the nib and Jimmy's face.
“Let me rephrase that. You tell me where Charlie is, and I shall let you live.” He grinned cruelly. “How's that?”
Then Jimmy looked at him – a look of hate, resentment and sickening anger. He clenched his teeth, obviously still fighting with the pain and by the look of his eyes that blow to the head had given him double vision. He thought about it for a moment, dropped his head weakly, shook it and sighed a shaky, rattly sigh.
“North.”
“What?”
“She went North.”
Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise. Well that had gone well. “With Kougu, yes?”
Jimmy nodded.
Antonio's eyes narrowed slightly. “And why would she go north?”
“I don't f*cking know, do I?!” he snapped weakly, clutching his head once more. “You asked me a question and I answered it. Can I go now?”
Antonio ignored him again. “Do you unlocked the gates yourself?” Sighing, Jimmy nodded once more. “With a pocket knife?”
“Yes, with the bloody pocket knife.”
Chuckling, Antonio handed the chico back his gun and backed away toward the van. “You're a crap liar, Mackintosh. But no worries. If she's here, she will be found.” He turned back to his men. “Get this filth in the van.” he ordered in his Spanish tongue and strolled back into the drivers' seat.
Jimmy retorted weakly, but let them shove him roughly into the back of the van. He caught a brief glance of the mound Charlie and Kougu disappeared behind just n time for the door to be slammed closed behind him.
“Where to, Señor?” One of his 'chicos' asked Tony.
“Galería.” Antonio replied, turning on the engine. The Warehouse.
“Worry not, Jimmy.” Antonio sang. “You will have your love by your side once more before I kill you.”
Jimmy looked away.

With that, the van did an impressive three-sixty-degree spin and roared out of the junk yard, leaving no trace but a huge cloud of dust in it's path.

“No... Jimmy, no...” I whispered, leaping out of our hiding place, scrabbling over the slippery mound of loose pebbles and skidded to the ground, watching the vehicle disappear back onto the street. Tears pricked at my eyes.
Antonio wanted me? Why? Other than to lure Kougu in, perhaps. But then Antonio would ask Jimmy of Kougu's whereabouts, instead of mine. What the hell was going on? Was Antonio serious about killing Jimmy?
I shook my head in disbelief, turning back to Kougu, feeling sick to my stomach. “We have to follow them.” I said sternly. The subject wasn't up for debate. “If Antonio wants me then he can have me, but I'm not letting him kill Jimmy. He's already killed two innocent people today...”
Jordan... Mike... I prayed they didn't die in pain.
I looked around the junk yard frantically, but nothing would suit as decent transport. Besides, we didn't even know where 'Galería' was. Was it a place? A country? What?
More importantly, how were we meant to get there?

((*headdesk* I'm officially dead. ))

“Fool!” Kougu hissed in disbelief as he saw Jimmy abandon his hiding place, and storm towards Antonio and his men – heavily armed as they were.
“Bloody fool!” He chocked under his breath – panic expanding like a white-hot bubble in his throat, and catching his words – making them incoherent. Sure, Jimmy was his enemy, but the man had good in him. Kougu had seen it now – twice or more. He would not live to see Jimmy shot down before his eyes.
Instinctively, Kougu began to move, but then he remembered Charlie, crouched at his side. She, like him, was hiding. If he burst into the open now, he would be pinning a target to her back – a risky gamble in fair circumstances, let alone when he was unarmed and vastly outnumbered. Not to mention the fact that he was in the weakest state he had been in years, what with his many injuries of late. Only one functional hand, three barely-healed bullet wounds to his midriff, which he feared had still not healed completely, and an emotional instability that would have earned him such a lashing from his father that flesh would have been ripped from bones.
His emotions had always been his greatest weakness – and now they crippled him again. Jimmy… Held by Antonio now, mocked, tormented, threatened… Charlie beside him, safe, but for how long? What would be the implications if he was to forsake his hiding place now?
He was fast, this he knew, but in his weakened state, was he fast enough to avoid the rain of bullets that would surely ensue at his arrival? He would be no use to anybody if he was dead.
Then again, there was a chance that careful strategizing could lead him to free Jimmy. He had outsmarted Antonio once, and he was certain he could do it again. He could try, anyway… At the very least, he might provide enough distraction for Jimmy to escape… But at what cost?
He would be putting Charlie, the person he loved, in danger. That was one thing he simply could never do…
Swallowing thickly, Kougu let his indecision paralyze him – instinctively cringing and hanging his head in shame, since many a cruel beating had taught him what to expect from a failure such as this one. He couldn’t decide. Even now, he couldn’t…

But he was saved the trouble of making a final decision, because before he knew it, the talking had ceased – and an unconscious Jimmy was being thrown unceremoniously into the back of the van. “No!” Kougu gasped, lunging forwards – then catching himself again, lower lip quivering, and shifting back into his position. “Jimmy…” He whimpered under his breath his expression that of a concerned dog nosing the hand of its dying owner. I can’t move. He told himself firmly, I mustn’t follow… Think of Charlie… Think of Charlie… Think of Char-
He heard a devastated whisper beside him then, and his thoughts were broken off. Charlie. His heart contracted at the sight of her, feeling as though it was clamped in a grip too tight… He couldn’t bear to see her like this. It ripped him up inside, and he felt the same second-hand pain show on his face, his muscles stiffening, and his gaunt cheeks pinching together with inescapable tension. His eyebrows were drawn automatically together – a knee-jerk reaction that he could not fight – and the corners of his mouth were dragged downwards to an unstable, wobbly chin. His jaw alone was loose – his emotional state so weak that he was incapable of clenching it.
Thinking back to the way he had been before, before all of this, he could not help but wonder… How had he got to this place? How had he slipped up badly enough to let himself fall this far? He was practically wearing his heart on his sleeve, and it was slowly killing him.

Biting his lip to hold it stead, Kougu swallowed thickly, and placed a strong hand on Charlie’s shoulder – forcefully shutting away his own emotions, and giving her shoulder a bracing squeeze. He could see tears in her eyes, and as she stared after Jimmy, an unexpected thought occurred to him.
Jimmy had been Charlie’s boyfriend, once… He had mistreated her, humiliated her and endangered her – but still she was staring after him with tears in her eyes… Evidently, everything was forgiven. A strange concept, considering how much there had been to forgive, and how little Jimmy had done to earn forgiveness.
He studied Charlie’s eyes a moment longer, and finally reached a somewhat unsettling conclusion: Charlie still had feelings for Jimmy.
Kougu thought about this a moment, in the confused, analytical sort of way that a child looks at a maths sum beyond their ability. He was not sure if this realization was supposed to upset him or not… Judging by what he had heard through the media – books, television, anything he happened to have stumbled upon – he ought to be terribly upset. His girlfr- No… His Charlie, apparently loved somebody else. He should have been devastated, distraught, but he wasn’t. In fact, he was rather surprised by his lack of emotive response. He felt the dull ache of loss, of expected disappointment, and accepted it glumly – not even bothering to object. Perhaps he had known all along that it was too good to be true… Charlie had never truly been his. His on loan, not his to keep. His time with her was up.
That was the moment when Kougu made his decision. Every impulse, every inclination, every romantic feeling was packed into a sealed box, locked away, and hidden somewhere at the back of his Labyrinthial mind, never to be looked upon again.
He loved her more than ever now, and it was because of that that he found it so easy to comprehend the concept of letting her go. More than anything, he wished for her happiness. Even if it meant the sacrifice of his own… In the end, it would be more gain than loss. He would rather see her happy with Jimmy, than sad at his own side.

“We have to follow them.” Charlie’s stern voice announced, startling Kougu out of his thoughts with a skittish leap. He had almost forgotten she was there… “If Antonio wants me then he can have me, but I'm not letting him kill Jimmy. He's already killed two innocent people today...”
“Antonio most certainly may not have you, and he’s not getting Jimmy’s life, either.” Kougu stated firmly, “Have faith in me. Failure does not easily befall me.”
Have faith in me… He had lost track of how often he had been saying those words recently. He wished that, just once, Charlie would take them to heart. That she would stop worrying, and unload her burden onto his shoulders. She was such a pretty girl… Too fragile to carry all the stress weighing down on her.
“Antonio is no match for me.” Kougu pointed out grimly, seeming almost shamed of this fact, while most men would have boasted it. “Especially not in the circumstances he has given me… He was careless, foolish. He gave away his strategy too soon in the game-“
Kougu broke off, an expression of utter revulsion on his face, and fell silent – seeming deeply unsettled, his lips pursed as though he could taste bile on his tongue.
Never before… Never had he imagined that he could sound so like his father. A hot flush of shame heated his face, and he seemed to retreat back into himself, like a hermit crab into a shell. He looked away, suddenly feeling the need to hide his face from Charlie. He felt unworthy to look upon her… The innocence of her, the purity…
He swallowed thickly, and forced himself to go on – though his voice was toneless now, ((WIP))

He swallowed thickly, and forced himself to go on – though his voice was toneless now – emotion masked by pure self-loathing. “I know his plan.” Kougu explained dully, “And I know that he won’t kill Jimmy until we – well, you, but rest assured you’re going nowhere without me... As I said, he’s not going to kill Jimmy until we’ve arrived. Letting me know that is probably going to be his fatal flaw... It gives me time to think, to plan... That’s what I’m good at. Always before, he kept me on the run. Everything was urgent, and I was overcome with panic – forced to think on my feet, and not always managing as well as I ought to, since I was too afraid of the consequences should I make a mistake... Now, I have time to analyse everything. He has underestimated me again... Unless I have overlooked something...” He paused, frowning slightly, the shame gone from his voice now that he was in analytical mode.
In fact, he almost seemed more robot than human.

“Galería...” Kougu repeated thoughtfully. “Why would they take Jimmy to a gallery...? I must be getting confused...” He growled under his breath, then paused – thinking a moment. “My mind must be rusty...” He commented with a brief, insincere chuckle, ((Or Polo’s is... XD )) “I’d usually have figured this out already...”
There was a moment’s more silence while he thought, and one could almost see the cogs turning in his head. Finally, with a satisfied smile, he turned back to Charlie. “Do you have Jimmy’s cellphone number?” He asked, raising one eyebrow.
Yes! Now there was a plan... Just a few taps at his computer, and he could locate Jimmy’s whereabouts via some sort of advanced cellphone tracking software.
Now that he had a plan, Kougu acted quickly.
“Come.” He said quickly. He reached out as though to take her hand and help her up, then seemed to think better of it, and returned his hand awkwardly to his side. It was funny… Something that had frightened him so much before – touching Charlie’s hand – had become like second nature now. It didn’t feel right, though… To touch her hand, to help her up, when somewhere in his head he knew that she wasn’t his any more. Perhaps she never had been…
He shook off his thoughts, then turned away from Charlie and resumed speaking.
“There must be something around here…”
His eyes darted around the junkyard – skimming over the skeleton of a broken motorbike. “Why the Hell don’t I own a car?” He asked himself in irritation, beginning to prowl around the junkyard in search of some sort of usable transportation. “Of all the stupid, pointless, nonsensical…” He trailed off when something caught his eye – a tattered old tyre poking out from beneath a mass of cardboard boxes. Kougu flung them aside, and revealed an old, but whole motorbike. It was scratched, dirty and tarnished – crumbling from rust in places – but all its parts were intact.
Kougu approached it slowly, like a lion stalking its prey, and wheeled the bike carefully onto clear ground.
He bent over it, fussing and fiddling for a while, until finally the old engine spluttered into life.
“Let’s get going.” He declared, a faint smile of pride at his success lifting his lips. He swung one long leg up over the bike, then winced – a hiss of pain escaping his lips. He hurriedly pulled himself off the bike, grunting in pain and doubling over – one hand clawing wildly at his abdomen. His shirt felt warm and sticky beneath his fingers – a familiar sensation that left him feeling sick to his stomach.
He should have known better than to jump a gate like that with newly stitched wounds… It was not surprising, really, that they had split open. With all the excitement, he had not noticed until now…
Slowly, as his legs became shaky, Kougu lowered himself to sit on a cardboard box – perching tensely on the edge, as though he was just taking a quick rest – ready to leave at any moment.
Meanwhile, he focused all his attention on resisting the two all powerful urges that gripped him: To faint, or to throw up. His pallid brow was cold and sticky with feverish sweat from the nausea, but it was gradually beginning to pass. The sudden onslaught of pain, and the lingering weakness from his former blood loss – and now this light bleeding on top of it – had caught him by surprise, and effected him rather more than they ought to have done.
No time to waste. He reminded himself firmly, and Kougu agreed.
He carefully raised himself to his feet – then mounted the motorbike with caution, and arranged his limbs into the appropriate seat.
Still not quite trusting himself to speak without vomiting, Kougu waited silently for Charlie to join him – trying desperately hard to ignore the sickly sensation of blood trickling down past his navel – tickling his fair skin.

((He could locate Jimmy's whereabouts via... XD I don't suppose you just got caught, did you, Polo? I hope I didn't just get you in trouble... *twiddles thumbs innocently* ))

((Haha! XD I got kicked off after school, because the cleaning lady needed to vaccuum the floor... *Sulks* And I wasn't going to cross her - she scares me... VERY Afrikaans, and she has a moustache! D: I know that's mean, but hey, it's true. :3 Plus, she always glares at me.

So yeah, I'll finish now if you'll post on the short RP. That's my deal. ))

((Posted, in case you hadn't realised. ))

((Don't worry, I noticed. :3 It was brilliant! I've got an idea for a reply, but I start school tomorrow and it's year 11, the most stressful year of the lot so I may not be replying as frequently as I usually do. If I don't get it done this week, it'll be done definitely at the weekend. ^_^ ))

((Ugh, bummer! D: Year 11 sucks, but in all honesty, I found year 10 worse. O.o
How weird is it that you start school in SEPTEMBER?! *Dies* Oh well... Best of luck, I'm sure it will be fine. Just try not to stress too much - the more you worry about it, the harder it seems to get - trust me!
It's totally fine if you only reply on weekends - that is why we have the short RP (Which must now return to extreme shortness) XD
May the force be with you, my friend. ))

“Antonio most certainly may not have you, and he’s not getting Jimmy’s life, either.” Kougu said firmly, his voice spiked with sharp determination. “Have faith in me. Failure does not easily befall me.”
Have faith in me... He said those words as if I'd never trusted him in my life. Of course I trusted him. I'd always trusted him when it came to protecting me. In fact, the only time I never trusted him was when it included his own well-being because we both knew he didn't give a damn about his health. Never had I told him I didn't trust him. Never...
But that didn't mean I wasn't scared. Antonio had Jimmy, yes. Perhaps he wouldn't kill him until we got there, but he could still do all sorts of other things. For all either of us knew Antonio could be having Jimmy beaten to a pulp, tortured, tormented. Humiliated. How were we supposed to help him? We had no way of stopping Tony from where we stood. We didn't even know where this 'Galería' was, and the van was already well out of sight, so following them was pointless.
“Antonio is no match for me. ” Kougu stated in somewhat of a grim tone. It was odd, as the words themselves sounded more like a boast, but the way he said them made it sound like a simple, plain fact, but nevertheless one he was not proud of. This sounded bizarre to me, as I was so used to Jimmy boasting about how brilliant and tough he was, and the gang always praised him with compliments and cowered away at his warning glares when they knew they'd said something wrong. The fact that what Kougu had said was true, along with the realisation that he didn't like to admit it sounded... odd.
“Especially not in the circumstances he has given me… He was careless, foolish. He gave away his strategy too soon in the game-”
Kougu cut himself off then, his eyes darkening in sickening hatred. I recognised his expression, he was thinking about his father. But why? Why was he thinking about that man at such a time?
Please don't snap... I prayed. Kougu, please keep yourself together. At least for now. Please...
Kougu forced himself on – back to his normal self, or close enough, at least, to my relief. “I know his plan. And I know that he won’t kill Jimmy until we – well, you, but rest assured you’re going nowhere without me... As I said, he’s not going to kill Jimmy until we’ve arrived. Letting me know that is probably going to be his fatal flaw... It gives me time to think, to plan... That’s what I’m good at. Always before, he kept me on the run. Everything was urgent, and I was overcome with panic – forced to think on my feet, and not always managing as well as I ought to, since I was too afraid of the consequences should I make a mistake... Now, I have time to analyse everything. He has underestimated me again... Unless I have overlooked something... ”
Hold on a minute. Fatal flaw? Fatal flaw? Kougu was actually planning on killing Antonio? I understood why he was angry, so was I. But Antonio was just a sad old man with a lot of power and money.
Just like someone else we knew...
Not to mention blinded by hatred. Kougu had to know what that was like. Couldn't he just try and compare himself with who he was dealing, and try and understand the enemy's pain before he went on a killing spree? There was no way I was going to stand by and watch people die because of me, whatever the cause. I'd throw myself in front of the bullets if needs be. Neither Koguu nor Jimmy would let anyone shoot at me, and Antonio obviously needed me for something, so I doubted he'd let anyone get their hands on me, anyway. But there was definite;y no way I'd let anyone die because of me. It just wasn't happening.
I thought through his words, pondering for a moment.
What he said made sense. Antonio had underestimated him, and now we had time to think.
But it didn't make thinking any easier. My brain was rushing so fast that trying to stop it just gave me a headache. All the possibilities of what could happen in the next hour taunted and teased my mind. Images of Jimmy's limp body, clothes drenched in blood, my desperate cries to be let go, Kougu's maddening laughter as his sanity is slowly, slowly drained from within him...
“Galería ...” Kougu's thoughtful tone made me stir slightly. “Why would they take Jimmy to a gallery...? I must be getting confused... My mind must be rusty... ”
Gallery...
Gallery...
Could it be...? I thought it would have to be a coincidence otherwise. And, knowing Antonio, it probably was.
“I’d usually have figured this out already... ” He paused for a moment, then after a few brief seconds he turned to me, a satisfied smile growing on his face. “Do you have Jimmy’s cellphone number? ”
“Ugh...” I gaped dumbly. “Yeah, I think. Er, yeah.” What would ringing him do? Obviously he wouldn't be able to talk to me, let along answer. What did he have in mind?
I began fumbling awkwardly around for my phone, just to remember I'd left it Kougu's when I'd changed my clothes. Sighing, I looked back up at Kougu, shoulders slumped in defeat.
There wasn't time to do the whole 'tracking' thing. By the time we had tracked down Jimmy's phone – baring in mind he could have dropped it for all we knew anywhere around town – anything could have happened to him.
“Come. Kougu ordered, offering me a hand up. I stared at it for a moment, unsure whether one hand would be pull me to my feet with my trembling knees. But before I could act, Kougu's hand jerked away again.
Strange... To say he'd just kissed me as if he hadn't a care in the world, he seemed to be going back to his 'no touchy' self. I thought I'd managed to get him away from that, to trust me and himself. Besides, he had happily hugged me tightly and held my hand before Antonio had appeared and ruined everything. So what had changed? Couldn't he at least help me up?
Awkwardly, I scrambled to my feet and brushed the dust from my jeans. Meanwhile, Kougu turned away from me and began busying himself by searching for some form of transport. Unfortunately, due to the poor surroundings, the odds were not on his side. He spent the time fumbling around, mumbling angrily to himself. I tried to help him out, but he didn't seem to notice.
What was up with him? Why was he being funny with me?
What had I don't wrong?
I watched him awkwardly, crossing my cold arms over my chest as he dug out a motorbike from a hue pile of mouldy cardboard boxes. Funny... I'd not noticed that before. Either I was crap at noticing anything other than a person in a police uniform or Kougu was generally good at spotting things. Probably both.
“Kougu, d'you...” I began, then wondered why Id' opened my mouth in the first place. Did he... Dide he... What? Did he need any help? Obviously not, otherwise he would have asked me. But for some reason he wasn't even looking at me. In fact... It was like he was avoiding me. But why? What the hell had I done?
With this thought in mind I simply watched him haul the motorbike from the rubble and begin working out how to make it start working again. Of course, I knew very little about mechanics and, to be honest, the thing looked like it had passed it's use-by date months ago. But he kept fiddling about with it, and eventually, the rusty old engine grumbled half-heartedly with life.
With that Kougu mounted, then seemed to freeze and tense up as a painful hiss escaped through his teeth.
Frowning, I jogged towards him and glanced down at his thin, baggy shirt. Tiny, dark red spots were becoming visible through the thin cotton, and he seemed to be clutching his stomach as if it had suddenly been ripped open with a single movement.
Knowing him, it probably had.
“Kougu. Kougu, you okay?”
But he wasn't listening. He quickly pulled away from the bike, doubling over in agony and hovered over a damp cardboard box for support. (Make him sound like he's doing a dump... But you know what I mean. XD)
Crap. If he got ill and fainted right then, I didn't know what I'd do. I couldn't remember a single thing Tom had told me about first aid, nor could I remember what he'd done when Kougu had been shot.
“Come... Don't get all ill and weak now. Please...” I urged, reaching out for his hand to yank him back on his feet. “Please, Kougu. You're timing's aweful...”
He said nothing, both hands clutching his middle desperately as beads of feverish sweat formed on his temples.
God... He didn't look well.

Nevertheless, he raised himself from the corner of the cardboard box, walked stiffly and hunched like an elderly man and cautiously made his way back to the bike. He climbed on, not without great difficulty and waited.
And waited.
And waited.

It took me a moment to realise he was waiting for me.

“Oh.” I mumbled dumbly, wandering awkwardly over and climbing on behind him.
Oh, so you dislike me that much you won't even talk to me, anymore? I thought bitterly. Have those moments we spent kissing each other just evaporated from your memory? Did they mean that little to you?
Sighing, I rested my feet on the rusty stands behind Kougu's and grasped the bottom of the dirty, black seat were were both perched on – holding Kougu's middle seemed a little pointless, let alone dangerous at the time.
“Kougu, I think I know where they're going.” I said loudly, as I had to due to the loud roaring of the engine choking in the background.
I swallowed, looking down, trying to recall the last time I'd been to that place. It had to have been at least eight or nine years ago, when my father had dragged the family over there to look at some of the displays up, and to ask us what we thought of a few of 'the models some famous people had made'. It had been boring as hell at the time, but I was grateful he'd taken us. Because that knowledge would hopefully be Jimmy's saviour.
Well, Kougu and I would be, but the information would help us a great deal with finding him.
“There's an old warehouse about ten or eleven miles East from here. It used to be an art gallery, but they relocated it to the city where they would get more tourists visiting. It's busier there, you know. But the warehouse was going to get made into flats, but the plans were suddenly abandoned for some reason. I guess it was Antonio.” I shrugged. “It's at least a half an hour drive, though. So if you're feeling bad, you'd better let me drive before we crash.”
I paused for a moment, debating on whether or not to say anything else, then decided it was for the best and did so anyway. “Kougu...”
How could I say it without sounding like a cow?
Oh, screw it. I had to be frank. There was no other way.
“Kougu, what have I done? You're acting... Different, than you were before. If you're annoyed, at least give me some idea of why before punishing me when I don't even know what I'm being punished for.”
Was that what it was? A punishment? Well, it certainly felt like it.
“Don't give me 'Nostalgia talk'. Tell me straight.”
Perhaps that sounded a bit harsh, demanding. But what else could I say?
“Please...”
Much better...
Not really.

((I'll add a bit on later about Jimmy, Tony and co. But my time is up for now. I'll have the rest done in the next couple of days, hopefully. ^_^ ))

Kougu felt the rickety old bike bounce slightly beneath him as Charlie climbed on. A shower of powdered old paint and rust fluttered to the ground about his feet – covering his pants in a fine, red-brown sheet of dust. He stomped one foot hard against the ground to dislodge it – inexplicably irritated by the sight of the dirt – but when the motion reverberated through him to launch a vicious, stabbing attack at his bullet wounds, he decided rather to remain still – wincing slightly, then cringing into obedience like an unruly puppy.
He would have to listen to his body this time, evidently.

Still silent, Kougu waited patiently for Charlie to put her arms around his waist. Of course, it would hurt him – and with his new mindset, he probably would not like it very much – but it was necessary. On his list of priorities, Charlie’s safety was paramount. It had to come first, regardless.
When Charlie still didn’t hold on appropriately, Kougu decided to give her a wordless reminder – and revved the rickety, pinging old engine of the bike into life. It groaned, shuddered and wheezed like an old man with asthma choking on his last meal, but it worked nonetheless, and at that moment Kougu could not have asked for more.

Suddenly, over the loud bellow of the exhausted engine, Kougu heard his name.
“Kougu, I think I know where they're going.”
At these words, Kougu spun around so suddenly that he actually felt the open wounds in his stomach rip a little wider. The pain was intense, and tears sprung automatically to his eyes – but he had no time for them, and swept them away in one quick blink – his attention already locked on Charlie.
“You do?” He asked hurriedly – speaking in a tone that might have been considered ‘excited’, but for its complete lack of jubilance.
“Where?”
“There's an old warehouse about ten or eleven miles East from here.” Charlie began replying, ” It used to be an art gallery, but they relocated it to the city where they would get more tourists visiting. It's busier there, you know. But the warehouse was going to get made into flats, but the plans were suddenly abandoned for some reason. I guess it was Antonio.” She shrugged briefly, then went on, “It's at least a half an hour drive, though. So if you're feeling bad, you'd better let me drive before we crash.”
“Brilliant…” Kougu mused in an awestruck whisper. “You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for, you know.” He would have smiled at her then, but his cheeks felt as though they were made of stone – too solid to bend, and too heavy to lift. “I think I know the place you’re talking about. And if I’m right, I know a shortcut…”
He went on and on, obviously talking more to himself now, since his mutterings were barely coherent. He was merely thinking out loud.
“Right at Halgard Crescent – through the alley… If I cut through the old park…” He broke off suddenly, cursed under his breath, and frowned in annoyance when he realized that he had forgotten one all-important thing. “Jimmy hasn’t got a gun! And I don’t either, damn it. I don’t want to use a gun… Hell, I don’t even want to carry a gun! I can’t stand those loathsome things… But how can I face Antonio and his men unarmed? It’s madness. I’ll have to stop off and grab a gun somewhere, but where? The house is too far… ‘His’ office – madness…”
“Kougu...”

A soft voice easily eclipsed the bee-like hum of Kougu’s incessant mumblings, but at first he didn’t seem to hear Charlie, and simply went on.

“There’s the old weapon store on 38th – that’s on the way, but will they even sell to me…? No, I’ll have to go black market. Those thugs always lingering about in the Alley off Fifth Street? Yeah, I bet I could get something from them…”

“Kougu, what have I done?” Charlie’s voice came louder, and more decisive this time, so Kougu ceased mumbling instantly, and tilted his head to face her with a dull “Huh?”, his mind uncharacteristically slow in resurfacing after being lost in his plans for so long.
“What have you…” He began repeating in dazed confusion – but thankfully, Charlie went on, and his attention slowly focused on her words.
You're acting... Different, than you were before. If you're annoyed, at least give me some idea of why before punishing me when I don't even know what I'm being punished for.
Don't give me 'Nostalgia talk'. Tell me straight.”

He thought he’d have had a reply ready by this stage, but instead he just gaped at her – made dumb by guilt, and completely lost for words. He hadn’t meant to ‘punish’ Charlie… That had never been his intention! He was doing this for her! He just… He just had to distance himself a little, to let her drift away… To let her do what she wanted to do. Be with who she wanted to be with…

“Please...”

This tiny, simple word loosened his tongue, and Kougu swallowed once before softly replying, “Charlie, I- I didn’t-“ But the words turned to ash in his mouth – drying up and sticking to his tongue. He could not make them pass his lips, for what he intended to say was not completely honest. It was the first time he had ever really wanted to lie – and who could blame him? He didn’t want to tell the girl he loved that he was intentionally pushing her away so that she could be with somebody else! It seemed mad, even to him – a known madman!
And Charlie wouldn’t understand. She would deny it. She would tell him he was being stupid… He knew she would think that – because he knew her. Likely as not, she hadn’t even realized her feelings for Jimmy yet, but Kougu could see that they were there. Maybe he was crazy, but… What if he wasn’t?
He didn’t want to keep what was never his. It was cruel, and wrong… Like pulling the wings off a butterfly.

Charlie was watching him expectantly now, waiting for an answer, and Kougu became flustered. Suddenly, almost without his permission, his lips blurted out the truth.
“I want to go back to the way things were before!”
Some of the truth…
“I mean… Just be friends again. Not… Not… Anything more.”
He fell silent, dropping his gaze awkwardly and turning to face in front of him.
Part of him wanted to explain himself to Charlie – to tell her why he wanted this… No, ‘wanted’ was not the right word. This was the last thing he ‘wanted’ to do – he simply felt that he had to.
But he couldn’t tell Charlie. He just couldn’t tell her… She wouldn’t understand. She would deny it.
If she knew that he was letting her go for her sake, then she would want to stay with him for his. He just didn’t know what to do. He felt lost and trapped all at once.
For perhaps the first time, he understood how love itself could cause pain – rather than just the absence of it.

“Charlie, the way you looked at Jimmy earlier…”

Oh, so he was doing it after all? He couldn’t remember deciding – but perhaps it was better this way. The decision was made, for better or for worse. He would tell her.

“It was like… How I look at you. You love him, don’t you…?” There was silence a moment, then Kougu added quietly, “I… I just don’t want to get in the way of that…”

“I want to go back to the way things were before! ” Kougu blurted suddenly, almost out of the blue. I jumped at his desperate tone, as if he was scrambling helplessly on a cliff edge, unable to grasp the last remaining vine that was keeping him from falling.
What did he mean by 'before? Before what? Plus, the way he'd just said it, it made it sound like what had happened 'before' was better than where we were with each other now. Like our kiss had been something he regretted, something he'd done simply to see what it was like, decided it wasn't worth it and thrown it away like a scratty piece of rubbish.
“I mean… Just be friends again. Not… Not… Anything more. ”
Brilliant. Just brilliant. He really did regret it, didn't he? Of course, he'd only done it because I had been brainwashed and couldn't stand listening to me talk about his father as if he were a God.
Wait... Wait a minute. This was Kougu I was secretly slagging off, here! Kougu never said something like that without reason. Why was I so easily won over?
God... No flippin' wonder his father managed to brainwash me. I was simply naïve. That was why it didn't take much for men to walk all over me like they do they're own doormat.
Right. Grow up. Now.
Don't be such a crybaby.
“Charlie, the way you looked at Jimmy earlier… It was like… How I look at you. ”
Suddenly, the whole word seemed to come to a standstill. My eyes widened, my breathing stopped and it felt like my heart had leapt into my throat, purposely there to choke me from words.
Crap... He'd noticed that? Had I made it that obvious?
Then, just as things couldn't get any worse, those six heinous words – not a question, as such, which made me feel even more rotton – left his mouth,wafting to to my ears like a horrifying stench.
“You love him, don’t you…? ”
I couldn't deny it. I couldn't lie to him, but he had to give me a chance to explain myself. I couldn't help my feelings, but if I simply nodded and kept my tongue still he would most certainly hate me forever. I couldn't give him the wrong idea, no way, because knowing him he would take it as a cue to go off and do something reckless, like throwing himself in front of a lorry, or something. I just hope he wouldn't take the news too personally.
“I… I just don’t want to get in the way of that… [/i]”
“Kougu, you're not getting in the way of anything.” I said with a sigh, my voice slightly strained. How could I say it without being too frank and hurting him? He didn't deserve to be let down like that, but what else could I do? “Yes, I love Jimmy.” I mumbled, guilt strangling me, my eyes scrunched closed. I didn't even want to look at him. “But you have to understand... It's far more complicated than that!”
That's it, I'd blown it. Right there. Time to say goodbye to everything good, Charlie.
Raking my hand through my long, knotted hair, I rushed into my explanation, just like Kougu had done countless times before. Tears pricked at my eyes in apprehension, and I swallowed thickly. So... Here goes...
“I love Jimmy, yes. But I'm not in love with him. I used to, you know that. Although I was very young and desperate then, I don't think I really understood what 'Love' truly was. But I needed protection, and money, and somewhere to escape. Jimmy provided for me, and for a bit, he cared about me. He'd always been a bit protective of me with the gang, wouldn't let any of them be alone with me. When we were together he never let me out of his arms. Then things just kind of... Well...”
There was no way to say this, really, without speaking ill of Jimmy, and I couldn't do that when he was in so much danger. I didn't dislike him enough to do such a thing.
“We got close, and he did tell me he loved me once or twice. But soon he started to get critical. I don't know what I did, but there was one night on the alley, we were kissing and-... Well, he hit me. It wasn't hard enough to break anything, but it hurt like hell. I tried to get away from him then, to recover, but he just pulled me back in his arms and started kissing me again. From then on I just couldn't see myself with him. Not like before, anyway.”
I opened my eyes, rested my forehead on his bony spine and let out a long, warm sigh.
“I don't want him to die, Kougu. It's as simple as that.”
Liar.
“Okay...” I whispered, more to myself than to him. “I care about him. I care that he has just lost two of his best friends because of his own foolishness and I care that he's just been shot, hit in the head with a gun handle and laughed at by a man he thought he knew. Antonio taunted him because he wouldn't say where I was hiding. It's my fault he's in this situation, Kougu. I'm not going to turn my back on him now.”
Satisfied that I'd finally got it off my chest, I let out a tired sigh and tightened my grip on the bent, rusty seat, feeling the orange-tinted dust crumble at my fingertips. It seemed to be the only thing that did, at that moment.
Why was I so powerless?
I didn't know how to fight, nor did I have any sense of planning ahead. I didn't know the art gallery inside out, I didn't know where Antonio was hiding exactly. For all we both knew he could have had guards at every entrance, automatic guns to nyone who tried to break in, traps inserted around the perimeter...
Of course, Antonio himself didn't have the intelligence, but I wasn't quite as sure about those other men he had on his back.
“There, that's the long, boring story of Charlie since six years ago.” I muttered, trying for a smile. But it didn't work.
“There's your explanation. So can we please just get going? We're pushing for time as it is.”


“Estamos aquí.” A Spaniard called as the crystal white van rolled to a stop outside the old Galería. The group exited the vehicle one-by-one; Antonio first, then the other three, Alfredo, then – with a bit of help – Jimmy. He tried to shake off the strong grips of the tanned men on his arms and shoulders, but the blow to the head from earlier had really messed with his balance. The would on his upper arm had stopped bleeding, but felt sticky to touch and he knew a single blow would certainly set it off again.
He was aching all over, his head was throbbing and, although he knew there were only three there to restrain him, he swore he could see at least five or six dancing around through his watery gaze. He was near to blind, therefore struggling was useless.
“Come, my friend.” Antonio sneered, leading the way through a pair of glass doors – the glass, however had been cleverly boarded up as if it had been smashed. But the glass on the other side was untouched, the boards put up simply to stop people from peering in. It seems this had been done to trick people into believing the place was under construction, meaning they wouldn't go to investigate even if they wanted to.
Jimmy was led – or more like 'carried' – through a long coridoor, the bright, white lights still on from Antonio's departure to the small town perhaps an hour or so ago – the navy blue carpet fairly clean to say the place had been left uncleaned and unused for weeks, and the crisp, white wallpaper showing little dust or grime from the damp that was yet to appear. There was an odd smell hinted in the air, slightly metallic, but the odour seemed to make Jimmy suddenly feel sick to his stomach.
He recognised that smell from somewhere. It was too faint yet to recall, but he recognised it. And it certainly didn't mean anything good, he knew that much. Swallowing thickly, he drooped his shoulders – his injured one drooping slightly lower than the other – and let them lead him through more coridoors, up two flights of stairs – every now and then tripping him up for the amusement and kicking him until he stood – until they reached the main room.
Back when the gallery had been in business this may have been a place for presentations, or for when school pupils came on school trips and stopped to nibble on their packed lunches. But it wasn't much of a show room. It was a regular oblong-shaped room, the walls were white just like the rest of the building, the floor laminate. A few cushioned chairs remained, one or two tossed carelessly to the side and landing awkwardly on the seat, or upside-down. In the corner was a small staged area, lacking a platform, but the curtains were still there. Possibly placed there for newly released exhibits to be shown off or for people to advertise artists and such. One thing Jimmy noticed, the curtains were closed.
The smell was strengthening now, but still he couldn't quite fathom what was causing it.
“Marco!” Antonio barked suddenly, and at first Jimmy had no idea what he was talking about. Then, from behind the curtain, appeared a dog.
It was a large animal, light in colour, with long, wavy hair. At first it seems to have the looks of a golden retriever, but then as it got closer Jimmy realised it was far bigger, to the size of a shetland pony at least. It's light, sandy coloured fur flowed freely as it trotted over to it's master, it's long, squirrel-like tail wagging madly, the movement so strong it caused the entire back end to wag along. It carried something in it's huge jaws, however, that caused Jimmy to gasp in horror.
The object was long, floppy, it's colour ranging from sheet white to dark crimson. A long, lightly coloured stick was poking out of one end, and a strange, spider-like object attached to the other end. The whole thing was splashed with dark red, which had now drenched the canine's dark grey jaws in the sickening colour, and also the bases of it's paws. As the large animal lollopped happily over, the spider-like end flopping in time.
The 'object' was, in fact, a human arm.

Jimmy stared at the happy animal with horror-struck eyes as Antonio fussed over it, scratching it's head and running his toned hands across the snowy white back. The animal released the arm from it's monstrous jaws to pant, it's muscley shoulders rippling at each breath it took. Jimmy didn't take his eyes off the bloody limb sat lifelessly on the floor. There were patches where the fangs had been gnawing at the flesh, tearing it off right to the very bone. Was that what Antonio was going to do to him? Tear his limbs off and feed him to the dog?
The bone... He could even see the bone...
Antonio looked around, oblivious to Jimmy's terrified features and frowned.
He glanced back down at Marco. “Where's you're bud, chico? Where's Benji?”
The wolf-like animal sniffed in response, and leant towards Tony's leg, curling it's large body round in a request to be petted once more.
“Benji!”
A head poked from around the curtain. It, too, was canine, but was near the opposite to Marco. It was a very sleek face, almost arrow-shaped, with pointy, triangular ears. The nose was pink, the fur short and white, with patches of bright chestnut on either side of the face. A shoe was in this dog's jaw, lightly hanging from the tip of it's long jaws. It's shockingly icy-green eyes stared innocently at it's master, and, after a briefly anxious look at what was behind the curtain dropped the shoe and trotted over. It had the elegance of an eagle soaring through the sky and the spring of a young thoroughbred being led to the starting line of it's first race. It greeted Antonio with a quiet nuzzle, it's sleek, athletic body freezing hesitantly at the sight of a new male. The two met eye-to-eye and immediately the canine began to bare it's teeth in a nervous, threatening snarl.
Antonio simply chuckled and scratched the animal's bony head affectionately.
“Wh... Who's arm is that?” Jimmy asked in a strangled whisper.
Antonio continued as if he'd never spoken and straightened up, admiring his pets with his hands on his hips. “Beautiful, aren't they?” He said warmly. “They were presents from some friends of mine back at home.”
He strolled towards a chair in the corner and dragged it to the centre of the room with one hand, gesturing for Jimmy to sit down.
He didn't have to be told twice.
Antonio's face sank to a tiny smirk, his eyes boring into Jimmy's partially limp head. “You betrayed me, Jimmy.” He growled. “You used me.”
“We used each other, Tony.” Jimmy growled, glowering back with an equal amount of hatred. “Don't make this look like it's all my fault, when you know full well-”
“Silence!” Antonio barked, striking Jimmy's jaw with his fist with a harsh 'thud'. This was followed by a pained grunt and Jimmy's head hung lifelessly for a moment on his shoulders. He shook the pain away weakly, shakily, and pulled his gaze back up to face Antonio, who's expression was now completely bitter, his lip curled slightly in disgust.
“You acquainted Kougu and you led him to with Charlie's help, because you knew you wouldn't be able to defeat me alone.”
“I didn't defeat y-”
“Shut up.” A male behind him grunted, his accent so thick it was almost difficult to understand.
“Aha... So you did work with Kougu!” Antonio's eyebrows shot to the sky.
“N-no...” Jimmy stuttered, shaking his head. “No, I didn't.”
“Still you lie!” The Spaniard roared furiously, striking a fist into Jimmy's stomach. The Englishman grunted once more, his face scrunching into a painful wince. “Admit the truth, Jimmy, and this will all end. Once Charlie sets foot through those doors, you will be free to go. But you must admit you set out to use me.”
Jimmy chuckled bitterly to himself, his breathing rattling. “You know... The last time you said that you turned back on your promise. Why should I listen to... You?” His slits of eyes glanced critically at Tony for a moment, his bleeding lip twitching a sneer. He should have seen all this coming. He was a fool to have ever befriended this b*st*rd in the first place.
It was what he deserved, after all.

Antonio rolled his eyes. “D'you know what? Stand up.” He ordered.
Jimmy remained seated, raising an eyebrow challengingly.
“I said... Stand.”
Jimmy snorted.
Antonio wasn't going to say it again. He ordered the two men beside Jimmy to drag him to his feet. Alfredo walked past, mumbling something to the two dogs who then trotted on after him tails wagging. He walked to the corner of the room and knelt down, beginning to pet both dogs, refusing to look his father in the eye.
“Right then, Jimmy... In fact, that's not even your real name, is it? Jimmy is short for something.” He stretched his fingers, crunched his knuckles and shook out the knots. “It's short for 'James', isn't it, chico?”
Jimmy's eyes hardened. No-one called him that, not any more. How dare Tony reveal his name. How dare he!
Antonio raised an eyebrow in mock-question. “What's wrong, James? Too embarrassed?”
“Don't call me that...” Jimmy choked, his protest resulting in a few more blows to the face and stomach. By the time the two men were finished his legs were shaking, too weak to keep him standing, and blood was trickling excessively from his nose and over his lips. Head bowed, he clenched his teeth and hissed out shallow, wheezing breaths, no longer able to look the Spaniard in the eye.
Antonio stepped over and cupped the silver dog tag hanging around Jimmy's neck in his palm, examining it with interest. “D'you remember when I gave you this tag, James?” He murmured, purposefully using Jimmy's full first name to humiliate him. It as funny, he didn't look like a 'James'. It was too much of a... Well, a proper name, especially for a cheap scum like this filthy youth. It was like calling a cat Rover. The two just didn't work. “I gave it to you that time when you were fourteen, you'd just helped me steal some money from the house of a married Entrepreneur couple, and said you'd let me have the majority as long as you could keep £100. I asked if you wanted to come work for me, I told you you'd earn far more than £100 a day if you gave me a hand with missions. But you turned me down. So I told you to keep the tag to remember me by, and to call me if you ever changed your mind or needed a sum of money. It surprised me you'd kept it so long...” He trailed off, shaking his head. “It was a gesture of friendship, and yet you had the nerve to go behind my back, still wearing the tag, like you were mocking me.”
“I didn't go behind your back...” Jimmy argued weakly, but as always, Antonio continued s if he hadn't said a word.
“Well no one mocks Antonio Juan Martinez, James. I warned you what would happen if you betrayed me, to the police or to anyone. It's time you earned your keep.” With that, Tony tightened his grip around the tag and jerked it off Jimmy's neck, having to do so roughly due to the thin silver being tied so well at the back. Jimmy hissed painfully as the chain blistered the back of his neck, and watched as Tony waved it mockingly in his face.

(Prepare for crappy little illustration... )

With a flick of his finger Antonio gestured for Jimmy to be let go and immediately he sank to his knees, wheezing coughs ripping from his throat. Antonio did nothing but leave the young man to it.


Alfredo watched the drama happen with a sad gaze, his fingers knotting through Marco's soft fur. During Jimmy and his father's little discussion the two dogs had currently played tug of war with Benji's shoe, gnawed at Marco's bloody arm and had been play-fighting for the past few minutes. Now Marco was sat protectively beside him, panting away, a droplet of drool trailing down the side of his mouth. Benji was opposite him, leaning forward, his backside in the air and tail wagging playfully. He yapped like a puppy a few times, but Marco simply ignored him.
Alfredo hugged the huge, white animal affectionately, happy that there was at least someone in the building to show him some form of comfort, something he'd been lacking ever since he'd moved to England so long ago. Slowly, he scratched Marco's muscular shoulder softly, leaning his head onto the warm stomach and listened to the mountain dog's heartbeat for a few moments.
When he finally pulled away he felt something damp on his fingertips, which he'd first thought was drool – which was fair enough, the canine never did stop excessively drooling twenty-four-seven. But when he saw his hand again, he realised it was covered in blood.
Not Marco's blood, of course. But The blood from the arm he'd been gnawing on.
Feeling sick, Alfredo scrambled to his feet, trying not to get any more blood on the laminate floor, and wandered downstairs and out the back to hose off his hands. Just to make sure, he decided, he'd hose off Marco too, just to busy himself. So that's what he did and, feeling lonely otherwise, Benji followed on after them, his large, triangular ears sunk sideways in an innocent, relaxed gesture.
I don't want to be part of this. Alfredo thought to himself as he turned on the tap in the shed outside. I don't even know why I'm here. What could there possibly be to do that none of the other chicos can do themselves? I'm nothing special...
He sighed sadly, finishing washing the blood from his hands and turning his attention to Marco.
Since I'm at it, I might as well hose them both. He thought to himself, almost overly proud that he was able to thing of more things to do than sit and look miserable. At least the dogs are better company than those upstairs...
Marc panted in response, Benji sat hunched beside him.


“I d-don't understand...” Jimmy stuttered as he pulled himself onto all-fours, then wincing as his injured arm began to throb at the weight of a quarter of his body and grasped his stomach with it instead. “Why Charlie? What could you possibly want with her?”
Antonio barked some Spanish orders at the remaining chico - who had been stood awkwardly by the door throughout the entire session - and nodded frantically, disappearing out of the room.
Antonio turned to him, a knowing smirk on his face. He said nothing.
“Tony... Tell me...”
“Nope.”
“Please...”
“No.”
“Please...”
“My lips are sealed... For now.”
“Pl-... What?”
Tony snorted at Jimmy's late response, happily sitting down on the seat where Jimmy had just been forced down on, palms rested on his knees. Just on cue, outside the room, a baby cry became audible from behind the door. The chico appeared seconds later and, long behold, there sat a child in his arms. It was a dark little thing with a tuft of black hair in the middle of it's delicate head. It's little hands were clenched into fists and it's mouth was outstretched into a squeaky, high-pitched cry. The chico winced.
Jimmy forced his head up to look at what Antonio had been ready to talk about, although he didn't know why he bothered. The cries could probably have been heard from a mile away.
But what he still didn't understand was what did this have to do with Charlie?
The question must have been written all over his face, because Antonio was handed the child and, as he began to rock it gently in his arms, eyes warm and wild with a speck of excitement, he immediately began to explain.
“This child needs a mother, Jimmy.”
Jimmy frowned. “Well... Where's it's biological one?”
Antonio paused for a moment thought this question through, and said through a deep breath. “Died during labour. I can't bring this kid up through guns and violence. It needs a female figure, someone to mother it through it's childhood. Charlie is young, she'll know more about childhood than some ratty old nanny.”
Jimmy stared at Tony like he'd just popped an extra head. “Hold on... There's no way she'll agree to that. Besides, what if she has Kougu with her? How would you persuade her then with him in the room?”
Tony softly brushed away the tiny tuft of hair from the baby's eyes. The crying had stopped for now, but he could sense another crying fit was brewing, and that it wouldn't stop next time until the baby boy was given some food soon.
“Just wait and see, James. Just wait and see.”

Kougu listened patiently to Charlie’s explanation – nodding at times, else mumbling quiet words of understanding.
He was feeling confused and uncertain now, as though Charlie’s explanation had raised more questions than it had answered.
He understood how Charlie felt about Jimmy. Or at least, he thought he did. She had loved Jimmy in the past, so it was only natural that she should feel some lingering affection for him.
Most of Kougu’s experiences with the man had been as his enemy, and even he wasn’t prepared to see Jimmy killed by Antonio – especially since (though he wasn’t sure how) this had to be entirely his fault.
Kougu was silent with his thoughts when Charlie finally finished. In reality, the silence lasted only a few minutes – but with seconds ticking palpably away, it seemed to drag on for an eternity.
Finally, Kougu had an answer.
“I understand.” He mumbled softly, dropping his gaze to the tarnished metal handlebars of the bike. A few sticky, black remnants indicated that they might have been leather- or rubber-clad at some stage, but the protective layer had wasted away, and now the dirty, corroding metal was naked – vibrating warmly in Kougu’s soft grip.
His sensitive hands looked out of place on the handlebars of a bike. They were a poet’s hands. Or an artist, or musician – they were not the tough, calloused hands of a biker.
Yet more proof that the boy’s father had committed a most heinous act in forcing his son into murder and destruction. He was a kind, sensitive boy – still a child, in many ways – yet all those dainty hands had known was the cold steel of a gun, and the hot rush of his victim’s life blood gushing thickly over his fingers.
Kougu tightened his grip on the handlebars slightly, and amended his answer. “I see…” He corrected himself, since ‘understand’ seemed too strong a word. He understood what Charlie had said, but he could by no means relate to how she was feeling.
“I care too, Charlie.” He promised quietly, a faint shudder running through him as a drop of blood freed itself from his wounds, and trickled down past his navel – tickling him uncomfortably.
“I want to save him. I will save him.”

Kougu wasted no words. At Charlie’s command, he revved the old engine, and the bike chugged unwillingly forwards – Kougu guiding it carefully around the piles of junk littering the ground.
“Hold around my waist.” He commanded firmly, leaving no room for discussion, “Not too tight, mind, but just don’t fall off. This is going to be a bumpy ride.”

They reached the gate, which hung open on bent hinges - the metal misshapen from Antonio’s forceful entry. The bike wobbled through the gate, and once on the open road, Kougu gave it the gas – sending the unreliable contraption rattling forward at unbelievable speed. ((How convenient, it still had petrol in it. ))
He guided it skillfully through twisty back alleys – dodging cats, dumpsters and old boxes. Never did his speed yield, even when he cut through a park, and had to struggle to balance the worn tyres on the slippery grass. It was, as he had said, a bumpy ride – but he handled it well. They were making good time.

While he drove, Kougu took the time to think again over what Charlie had said. He couldn’t help but notice that when he had suggested ‘going back’ – or, in blunter and more modern terms – ‘breaking up’ – she had not objected. She had made excuses and explained herself, yes, but not once had she actually said she didn’t approve of his idea.
He just couldn’t shake the irksome suspicion that perhaps Charlie didn’t want to be with him after all. It seemed pathetic to him, thinking about it like that, but he was just so terrified of holding Charlie back. Right from the start, he had known that associating with him would probably take Charlie’s life in a bad direction. He would have severed ties with her right away, had he been strong enough.
“Charlie?” Kougu said calmly – speaking in a soft voice, though raising it loud enough to be heard over the wind. “You know… You don’t have to be with me if you don’t want to.”
He paused a moment, navigating another tricky bend as he took yet another of his shortcuts.
“You can do anything you want… Be with whomever you want. I wouldn’t love you any less because of it. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy, even if it isn’t with me. Your happiness is everything to me. Everything.”
He took another sharp turn, entering a dark, dingy-looking alley. He slowed the bike, and finally pulled up outside a ramshackle underground pub. A few crumbling cement steps led down to a graffiti-ridden door, lit by a single flickering bulb, which cast a dull orange glow over the grimy doormat. The entire place reeked of alcohol, cigarette smoke and marijuana – yet more overpowering than the rest combined was the foul, throat-burning stench of urine and ammonia.
Kougu shut off the noisy engine, and as silence enveloped them both, he added one final whisper – the warmth and tenderness in his voice betraying just exactly how much he cared, and demonstrating a vulnerability that he was seldom willing to show, even to Charlie.
“I just…” He paused, swallowing thickly, and continuing in an even softer whisper – barely audible over the faint rustlings of rats scuttling through the layer of filth carpeting the alley. “I love you too much not to let you go.”
He was glad that he wasn’t facing Charlie at that moment, because he knew he would not have had the strength to hold her gaze. He couldn’t even meet his own eyes – reflecting darkly off the rusty handlebars of the bike.
He didn’t expect Charlie to understand what he was saying. Even he didn’t understand it completely… It was flawed logic – and his logic was never flawed. Thus, his mind could not make sense of it…
But if Charlie could see into his heart, and understand the way he was feeling – then it would be clearer than a spring stream.
He sat there a moment longer – tension rapidly building up in him as the silence drew on. Finally, it became too much for him, and Kougu stood up abruptly – continuing on his ‘mission’ as though nothing had happened in between. It was an odd defensive mechanism of his – almost as though he could put his emotions on pause. This was the power of denial.
“Right, I need to get myself a weapon – so I’ll run in, and be out again in a moment. Please wait here, and if anybody gives you any trouble, just tell them you’re with me. I’ll be right back.”
He slapped the keys to the bike down on the seat, just in front of where Charlie was sitting, then turned on his heel and strode confidently down the steps to the door of the dingy little bar.

He put Charlie out of his mind when he entered the bar, focusing his attention where it was needed. His face was devoid of emotion to a mask-like extent – and though everybody stopped what they were doing to look up at him when he entered, he did not so much as flinch.
The bar was full of dark, shady characters. Bulky, biker-type men with tattooed arms, whose long, unkempt beards still held traces of whatever they had eaten last. They reeked of beer and stale sweat, and a few of them crunched their knuckles threateningly as Kougu passed.
Those who knew of the boy, however, hurriedly hushed their friends, and before long there was a wind-like whisper of grudging respect and caution circling the bar.
Way in the back corner, a group of dangerous-looking Nigerians fixed their bloodshot eyes on Kougu. One plucked the cigarette of marijuana from his lips, and ground it to dust in the ash-tray. Then he stood slowly, and approached Kougu.
“You da kid zey talk ‘bout?” He grunted, his words difficult to make out – though it was unclear whether this was due to his accent, or rather the fact that he barely parted his lips when he spoke.
Kougu turned slowly, and fixed him with a cool gaze. They stared into each other’s eyes a while – the Nigerian’s dark skin seeming beyond black in contrast to Kougu’s eerie paleness.
Finally, the older man looked away, grunting slightly, and blinking the dry sting from his eyes. Kougu continued to stare, not showing the slightest intention of blinking, or speaking.
The Nigerian seemed to size him up once more, then took a step back, evidently deciding – like everybody else in the bar – that this scrawny youngster was more than he appeared.
Recognising the older man’s submission, Kougu finally stated his purpose.
“I need a gun.”
“Got a thousand bucks?”
“No.”
“Den you ain’t gettin’ no gun, boy.”
Kougu raised one eyebrow, and took a single deliberate step toward the man, who shifted back uncertainly.
“I need a gun.” he repeated quietly.
The Nigerian shifted uncomfortably, and Kougu raised one eyebrow expectantly.
“I gots a gun.” One drunk biker croaked stupidly.
Turning his attention away from the relieved Nigerian, Kougu slowly approached the biker, who began rummaging clumsily in a suspicious-looking bag resting on the stool beside his.
“I gots it righ’ here…” He promised in a deep, slurred voice.
Finally, he produced a sleek, black machine gun from the sack, and handed it to Kougu.
“You ain’t gots to pay me.” The biker grunted hastily.
Nodding slowly, Kougu responded with a delicate murmur. “I should hope not.”
The ice in his voice sent a faint shudder scuttling down the spines of everybody in the room, and they silently moved aside as the boy passed them – heading back outside.
He had become something of a legend in that particular bar, since he had slaughtered near every man in it a few years ago.
Criminals were drawn to these sorts of bars like mice to cheese – and like the fatal steel of a mouse trap, Kougu’s father never failed to make sure he had something ready to snap over their pitiful, greedy heads.
What better way to quicken the purification process than to draw the criminals infecting the earth into one deadly place?

The black steel clasped in Kougu’s palm was cold, but he did not feel it, for as usual – his hands were even colder. His long fingers were wrapped delicately around the handle of the foul thing, and he held the gun far from him – as though it were followed by a rather repulsive odour.
It was a good gun. Shameful as it was, he could not help but notice this. The long handle was as though it had been made for him – and the tip of his index finger perched comfortably on the trigger, as though it had never rested anywhere else.
As he stepped through the doorway into the cold air outside, the dying sun glinted off the surface of the gun – letting a bloody reflection predict the weapon’s future.
It was like a dead body in the way it drew Kougu’s eyes in toward it. He was loathe to look at it, yet it called to him with a magnetic attraction, and he found that he could not look away.
He was so intent on the weapon, in fact, that he forgot to look where he was walking.
Just before he reached the bike, his foot fell on the tail of a particularly large rat. It released a blood-curdling squeak, and swung its bristly head around – sinking long, yellow fans deep into the toe of Kougu’s shoe. He exploded back in shock, inevitably tripping over his feet, and falling over backwards.
He found himself sitting on the ground, then – a dazed and bemused expression on his pale face as he watched the rat’s kinked, worm-like tail vanish beyond a stack of filthy, maggot-ridden boxes.
His heart was racing with useless adrenaline, and all his limbs felt floppy for a moment. Dizzy and light-headed, he shook his head a few times, then clambered clumsily to his feet – swaying drunkenly from side to side as the after-effects of the shock incensed his blood-loss induced lethargy.
For a moment he stood where he was, lips clamped tight shut to keep from vomiting. Then he edged forward, and clutched the nearest handlebar of the bike for support.
“Rats.” He murmured in faint annoyance, shaking his head.
With his free hand, he tucked the machine gun safely into his belt, then unhooked his shirt, and draped it over to cover the weapon. For the first time, he noticed the bright red patches blooming on the crisp white shirt – showing where his newly-stitched wounds had been ripped savagely open, and made to weep away his life yet again.
“Ready to go?” He murmured softly to Charlie – casting aside the cold, threatening aura that had been lingering from his trip into the bar, and adopting the warm, gentle attitude that he had come to associate with Charlie.
The secretly kind side to the beast he had become – and all that was left of what he ought to have been.
“Hold on tight.” He advised quietly, “But mind the blood – it’s messy.” He pointed out the obvious in an endearingly childlike fashion – catching Charlie’s eye in the rear-view mirror hanging off the side of the bike’s handlebars.
He forced his lips upwards in the corners, managing just the smallest of smiles.
Small, yet nevertheless a powerful gesture coming from Kougu.

He moistened his lips briefly with his tongue, then coaxed the old bike into life again, and sent it chugging out of the alleyway.
Once back on the open road, Kougu eased it gradually faster and faster, until they were cruising rapidly toward their destination.
Moonlight he bleached the dark roads now, and even the bright crimson blossoms of blood adorning Kougu’s shirt had had the colour sapped from them. The world was grey and dull – exactly how Kougu’s mind dictated it ought to be.
The cold wind bit right through his pale skin as the bike raced on ever faster, and before long Kougu was chilled to the bone. His limbs stiffened, and he felt as though his joints had locked.
Just when the cold was becoming near unbearable, Kougu noticed a familiar landmark – an old, grafitti-ridden phone booth. It looked as though it might once have been red – but the accumulated filth of years had made its true colour somewhat uncertain.
All the same, Kougu remembered it, and he turned the bike sharply here.
The smooth surfaces of the tyres slid and squealed in protest – struggling to keep the asphalt beneath them as the bike skated around like a camel on ice.
Kougu shifted his weight skilfully to balance it – and once he had set it right, and had it moving constantly along again, he murmured a quiet apology to Charlie.
“We’re almost there.” He informed her quietly, navigating his way carefully around the dumpsters that took up most of the derelict old side-street he had turned down.
It was obvious that this side of town had long since been abandoned. There was an old hotel which had been closed for years – a block of flats with boarded up windows, and the unpainted cement walls crumbling to leave a thick carpet of powdered concrete over the street. The bike’s tired old engine began whining pathetically as it slipped on the dirt, so Kougu kindly put it out of its misery, and wheeled the ruined machine to the side of the alley. He waited for Charlie to dismount, then propped it gently against the wall.

For a moment he displayed the incurable softness that still possessed his soul – actually reaching out to give the tarnished metal of the handlebars a brief pat – as though thanking the bike for managing the journey. It was the sort of thing that only Kougu would do – a sweet gesture, but a pointless one, since the bike could offer no gratitude in any case. It was not a living thing, so naturally his efforts were wasted on it, but Kougu did not seem to care in the slightest.

Finally, he turned away from the bike, and glanced awkwardly at Charlie. The second me met her gaze, he looked skittishly away again – almost trembling with inexplicable nervousness.
Something told him that she was upset with him… He had no idea why, but he felt certain that she was angry.
“We’re here.” He announced hurriedly, raising his dark blue eyes, and blinking sheepishly at Charlie from under a thick fringe of shaggy, black hair.
“Please, Charlie, stay close to me – and don’t let them get to you.” He requested politely, “The last thing we need is for them to get their hands on you… I know it’ll be difficult for you not to run out there depending on what they’ve done- Well, depending on what we see… But you’ve got to try, okay?”
His eyes found hers, and held them intently – his pupils widening just briefly as an unexpected thrill of affection jolted through him. He shuddered it uncomfortably away, frightened by such feelings now that they were unwelcome, and returned his attention to the mission.
“If they get you, we’re done for… So please, focus on keeping yourself safe. I’ll get Jimmy. As soon as he’s free, I want you to take him and run. Just escape, as fast as you can. Don’t even think about waiting for me…”
He raised a hand absentmindedly to his bleeding midriff – wondering with a vague lack of emotion of he would even survive this entire ordeal.
He swallowed the bile that rose to his throat, and rested his fingers lightly on the bulky form of the gun poking out next to his hip.
“And Charlie…” He added, gulping nervously, “You understand I- I-…” Be broke off, drawing in a deep breath to steel himself before trying again, “My defences are low at the moment. I- I’m too vulnerable. So just… Don’t trust me too much. I can’t promise you that I’ll be able to keep control. You know me – you know I can’t kill… So if I do use this-“ He touched a single finger elegantly to the lump at his hip, indicating the gun, “You’ve got to get far away from me, and run. I don’t want to hurt you…” He shuddered at the mere thought – then tripped clumsily backwards away from the bike.
“Are you ready to go in?” He asked quietly – stepping slowly over to the door, then pausing outside – an expression of grim acceptance on his pale face – pearlescent skin seeming almost to glow in the silver moonlight.
He was determined and ready – but even so, his heart wasn’t in it. He felt emotionless and empty.
Perhaps that was a good thing… But then why did he feel like a heartless robot?
Like a killing machine?
A weapon?
A tool…?

((Posted. Sorry it ended so badly, I was falling asleep. ))

((Nawww, Polo-fluff. I love you. :3 It was totally amazing, don't worry, especially to say how little time it took you to type it. I want your super-speed skills. -_- ))

I was surprised by Kougu's reaction for he seemed to believe my story, but I wasn't all that convinced that I was forgiven. Admittedly it was probably a bit difficult to turn and look me in the eye Of course, it may have hurt him to try, but when had that ever stopped him? I knew him. I knew he was avoiding my eye on purpose. There was obviously something I'd forgotten to mention. Something that would have put him at ease if I'd said it, but I didn't understand what 'it' was. Everything I'd said was the truth, I was almost certain I hadn't left something out.
But I had. And whatever it was, it was important to him.
I sat staring for a moment, staring at the desert-like dust coated over the junk yard floor.
Why was nothing simple anymore?
Wind blew my hair in all directions, slapping me in the face and blowing dust into my eyes, partially blinding me. I lifted a hand and began rubbing at my eyelids until the eyeballs were raw with friction and cleansing tears were flooding my vision.
I sniffed.
I want to save him. I will save him... Kougu had sounded fairly determined when he'd said it. There was no hatred, no reluctance whatsoever. He honestly wanted to save Jimmy's life, despite it all. Even though I'd already said I loved him, he believed me.
But had he forgiven me?
“Hold around my waist. ” He demanded, bringing my thoughts back to the present. I glanced over his shoulder to where his sleek, pale jawline peeked through his shaggy hair. Was he serious? If I did that his wounds were definitely going to get worse, if they hadn't already. How far was he willing to go before he passed out?
Hesitantly, I slipped my arms beneath his and locked my fingers loosely, hovering them over his stomach. I didn't like the feeling of his soft bandages turning soggy with blood. I didn;t like the thought that simply by touching his stomach, I was touching a part of intestine, or liver, or lung. Just imagining it made me gag. I pressed my elbows instead into the sides of him which I knew weren't wounded to keep my balance, and Kougu then added, “Not too tight, mind, but just don’t fall off. This is going to be a bumpy ride.”
I nodded end braced myself, pressing my cheek on his bony back and scrunching my watery eyes closed. With that, he turned on the engine and the old machine jolted into life.
We're on our way, Jimmy. I thought to the sky, please don't do anything reckless. We're coming...” The engine hissed and choked in response and we weaved our way out of the large, wire mesh gates and onto the street.

The vicious wind had strengthened considerably since we'd been stood still, sheltering behind the mound of grey slate when the Spaniards had been back at the junk yard. The sun had set, too, almost completely behind the horizon. It was still possible to see outside, as the sky was not yet completely pitch black, but give it another ten minutes it would soon become that way. I clutched the rusty covering of the bike desperately with my knees, struggling to keep seated whilst Kougu led us down countless alleyways and short-cuts. My hair must have looked like that of a hideous witch since it had been days since it had last been brushed, and I doubted my face had changed much since earlier that evening when I'd seen myself in the mirror. Of course, the stress of turning my back on Kougu was now gone, but since then Jordan and Mike had been shot by Antonio, and Jimmy was still out there. Goodness knows what they were doing to him. He'd had enough happen today as it was.
Just then, over the whistling wind and moaning rumble of the choking engine, I heard my name.
“Charlie?”
Funny. It sounded so innocent. It was so difficult to believe he'd been the least bit angry with me just minutes earlier.
“You know… You don’t have to be with me if you don’t want to.”
What? Was that what this was about? He honestly thought that I-
No. No, never. I would never feel that way. Not after all he'd done for me. Where had all this come from?
“You can do anything you want… Be with whomever you want. I wouldn’t love you any less because of it. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy, even if it isn’t with me. Your happiness is everything to me. Everything. I just… I love you too much not to let you go. ”
Wow.
He really had thought this through, hadn't he?
I sighed deeply, noticing that we had arrived somewhere – although I didn't recognise it as our destination – and the bike had been parked. (It was interesting how I'd stopped noticing these things anymore.) We were in a dark alleyway, one which stank of urine and vomit. I'd never been there before and it didn't seem to be the sort of place Kougu would have wanted to go, either. But I was surprise to notice the recognition as Kougu lifted his eyes from the bike to view the premises. Goodness knows how he'd come to know this place – hell, it seemed I'd been everywhere humanly possible in the town and I'd never seen such a dump in my life – but wherever we were, he was unbelievably calm. Drunkards joked and sang on the other side of the wall we were stood by, at least twenty of them, and goodness knows how many of them had weapons with them. Kougu had wounds ripping open on his stomach, he was losing blood by the minute. Did he really think he could take them all on? Besides, what were we doing here?
After a few moments of sitting tensely in silence for a few odd moments, Kougu stood and dismounted from the bike. He'd not looked at me in the eye at all since he'd started to presume I was in love with Jimmy, and now was certainly no exception. My eyes followed him as he slapped the keys on the seat before me just as his words escaped those thin, bloodless lips. “Right, I need to get myself a weapon – so I’ll run in, and be out again in a moment. Please wait here, and if anybody gives you any trouble, just tell them you’re with me. I’ll be right back. ”
“I will. Don't worry.” I replied seriously, watching as his tall frame disappeared into the ratty building, wondering what on earth I had done wrong.

Kougu emerged just minutes later with a gun in hand – and impressive one, too – and headed back towards the bike. I stared at him, eyes wide with amazement and shook my head. How he did it, I had no idea. For a young man that really didn't like crowds, or strangers all that much, he was certainly good at persuading people to give him what he wanted. Had he paid for that gun? I'd not noticed him pocket anything...
A quiet shriek shocked us both and before either of us could fathom what was going on, Kougu tripped on something and landed on his backside. A shadow of grey scuttled away into the darkness then, trailing a pink, worm-like tail behind it.
I shuddered. Rats.
Kougu scrambled clumsily to his feet and swayed faintly for a moment, then concluded what I'd just thought with a nod of the head. “Rats.”
I shuddered again.
He climbed back onto the motor bike and took his place up front, gripping the handles confidently, and for the first time in a while, I saw him almost completely relaxed.
“Ready to go? ”
At this, realising the softness in his low voice was genuine, I had an urge to smile. So I did. “As I'll ever be.” I replied nervously, then locked my hands over his front like I had done before. “Hold on tight.” He advised. “But mind the blood – it’s messy. ”
I gathered, I though to myself secretly, the thought of actually having his blood coating my hands bringing a rush of nausea to the back of my throat. How people found pleasure in such a thing, I would never know.
Something caught my eye then, a brief reflection on the rear-view mirror hanging limply at an angle on it's stand. Kougu's eye, finally on mine. My heart fluttered in hope.
Then I saw it.
It wasn't much, but coming from Kougu it seemed huge. I felt slightly foolish to be so elated at seeing it, but I was, and it wasn't something I was going to apologise for. The creases on the corners of Kougu's mouth twitch upwards, just slightly, but it was enough.
I returned his smile, my eyes grinning a great deal more than my lips were. But Jeez... I loved him so much. I'd have to make sure I mentioned that once he stopped the bike again.

With that the engine was revved up weakly – choking and spluttering in protest – and we were off again.

((Going to skip to where they arrive. I've given up being as awesome with description as you. ))

By the time the bike began to slow, I had lost feeling in my fingers. They seemed to have frozen, locked in the position they'd been in before, wrapped around Kougu's waist. I inhaled a pained hiss through clenched teeth as I forced my aching muscles to unravel themselves from his bloody shirt. It was a wonder how he managed to go for so long in such cold temperatures without even giving a damn about his dangerously poor health. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to stop and force him to go home and leave Antonio to me. Because I was so bloody helpless and had proved to him countless times that I couldn't look after myself, he'd forced his way here, battling bloody wounds in the process.
Funny, Kougu always droned on about how he was a burden to me and that he was sorry. But in reality, it was me who was the burden.. Besides, who's fault was it that my house had been burned down? That when we'd met I was literally minutes away from arrest? I'd shoved myself into Kougu's life. Id' made nearly everything he did my business. I'd even dragged my mother into his house, for goodness' sake! If anyone was the burden, it was me.
And was where it's got us. Chasing after my ex-lover who'd been kidnapped by Spanish men with guns because they wanted me for something.
I don't know why I hadn't just handed myself in to them in the first place.
Well, there was no turning back, now. Kougu was here and, by the looks of things, neither was the poor motorbike. I dismounted and took a few strides away from the pair to scan the building.

It had aged since I'd last been there. Hell, it had to have been at least six or seven years since I'd last visited the Nethervale Visual Arts Centre back on a school trip. The outer walls that were once paper white had drained of their colour and were splashed with fungus. Graffiti was scrawled inartistically on certain patches, some just things like 'live fast, die young and leave a good looking corpse behind' and 'It's only a game until you lose'. Although I did notice one which had obviously been done by a more artistic individual, where the black silhouette of a gun was pointed at an ange, obviously getting prepared to fire. Beside it read: 'Big barrel = no balls'.
Someone should have told Tony that.
The gravel by my feet had been flattened from the amount of cars and building lorries that had paced back an forth over the pebbly terrain until what lay now was just flat, hard, grey stone. It was uncomfortable to walk on, yes, but it made little sound when walked over. Perhaps luck was on our side.
“We're here.” Kougu's soft voice reminded me quickly, causing me to start slightly. I turned round to face him, noticing the minute he met my eyes he regretted doing so and dropped his gaze once more. It was then that with grim realisation I figured that as soon as we stepped foot in that building someone was probably going to die, whether it be Jimmy, Antonio, any of his pals, or even either of us. It's not that I didn't trust Kougu to know what to do, it's that he was lucky he was still standing with those wounds of his. Goodness knows how long he would last, and if he snapped... If he went on a mad killing spree like he tried to do the last time, then we were all screwed.
“Please, Charlie, stay close to me – and don’t let them get to you. ”
Stay close to him? But what good would that do? Sighing, I opened my mouth to protest with his sheepish gaze – which, had it been any other time, I would have found rather adorable. However, his remarks earlier about it being okay if I didn't love him had really begun to bother me. How could he think that after everything we'd both been through?
“The last thing we need is for them to get their hands on you… I know it’ll be difficult for you not to run out there depending on what they’ve done- Well, depending on what we see… But you’ve got to try, okay? ”
I hated this. I hated the way he was talking to me, like I was a little child getting a scolding after having sat on the naughty step for five minutes. He had to know I wasn't just a little girl. I had power.
Well... Some power.
Why couldn't he just let me go in on my own? He knew fair well Antonio hadn't gone through all this bother just to have me killed. He obviously needed me for something. We could compromise. I could do Antonio the favour and he could let Jimmy go. Simple as that.
But no, Kougu wanted to risk everything, including his own well-being. All because of me.
Jeez..
I then realised Kougu was looking at me – right at me – and I shuddered at the intent he gripped within his staring, midnight-blue eyes. They were like black diamonds, cold as stone but beautiful nonetheless. They didn't even hint in the slightest any worry for his own well-being.
He would go in there and shoot himself if it meant getting me and Jimmy out safe.
All of a sudden I felt that little bit more sick with worry than before.

“If they get you, we’re done for… So please, focus on keeping yourself safe. I’ll get Jimmy. As soon as he’s free, I want you to take him and run. Just escape, as fast as you can. Don’t even think about waiting for me… ”
Okay, this was just getting downright ridiculous. He honestly thought I was prepared to just grab Jimmy's sorry hide and flee? Leave him in there to either die or pass out from blood loss? No chance.
Over my dead body!
I stared at him incredulously, eyes letting him know how absurd his ideas really sounded. No way was I leaving him on his own with Antonio. The Spaniard despised him with a passion for murdering his brother, whatever the reason. Plus, I knew how Kougu was with him. He'd just use his mouth to antagonize Tony further until he would be forced to shoot him. That was just Kougu all over.
Which was the exact reason why I refused to leave him there on his own, no matter what his objections were.
“And Charlie... You understand I- I-… ” Kougu began again, seeming uncharacteristically nervous all of a sudden. I realised then that he was gripping his stomach to stop yet more bleeding from his splitting midriff. I wanted to wince just from looking at him. “My defences are low at the moment. I- I’m too vulnerable. So just… Don’t trust me too much. I can’t promise you that I’ll be able to keep control. You know me – you know I can’t kill… So if I do use this- ” He gestured to the gun in his pocket. “You’ve got to get far away from me, and run. I don’t want to hurt you… ”
Oh, I understood it, then. So... It hadn't been possible for me to run away from me the first couple of times he snapped, but now he made it sound like the easiest thing ever possible!
Unbelievable.
He really hadn't thought this through,as otherwise he would have realised that none of this would be okay with me. He was being too selfish to even think straight. For Kougu, to be selfish was to be blind to the cause. It's like someone had strapped blinkers to his eyes and suddenly started to come at him at all angles. It just didn't work.
“Are you ready to go in? ”
I began to absent-mindedly nod slowly at this, when I realised with a jolt that, in fact, I was most certainly not ready.
To Hell was I ready. I wasn't going to storm into an abandoned gallery where there were guys with guns all over with a young man on the verge of passing out because his stomach was ripping open by the second, just to have him say 'leave me here'. No. It just didn't work.
“No, Kougu. I'm not ready to go in.” I said matter-of-factly. I lifted my eyes to his and took a firm step towards him. “What, do you seriously think I'm prepared to run off and leave you to slaughter everyone in that building?” I pointed up to the sorry, grey ghost-building behind me. That was a good idea. Leave him to believe I was doing all this for the good of everyone else. That could possibly work...
“Jimmy'll be okay with keeping his head down. But you...” I sighed, shook my head and sunk my gaze It was no use. Having him think I didn't love him was like being robbed of air.
A fish out of water. That's what I felt like. I fish out of water.
“You of all people should know you're not going anywhere with those wounds. As soon as all this is over I'm having Jimmy ring for back-up transport and you're going straight home... To bed.”
Now who was being spoken to like a child? Serves you right.
“Face it, Kougu. We're in this together. I'm not leaving you behind.”
I stared at him for a moment longer, holding his gaze with fierce determination. He had to realise now that I meant every stinkin' word. No way was I leaving him in there when, knowing him, he'll just end up shooting himself or dying of blood loss.

Grrrrrrrrr.....

What the hell was that?
I spun round, my eyes wild. I could have sworn I'd heard a dog growl...

Grrrrrr.... RRRRRrrrrrrrr......

There it was again! I squinted into the distance, where the growling turned to some strange growling bark. Then it crescendoed to a bark, then a howling bark.
Dogs. Antonio had dogs?
“Kougu, did you hear that?” I whispered anxiously, still staring at the corner of the building, beyond the shadows where the bark had come from. Then came a quiet 'hushing' sound, this time from a human. My eyes widened.
Who was that?

A head peaked from behind the shelter of the huge, grey walls. It was difficult to make out most of it's features, but I could definitely make out that it was that of a dog. A frail one, but it was a dog nonetheless. I could just see it's devilishly light eyes glaring at me as it's barking commenced, throwing it's head up every now and then to let out another rumbling bark. When it realised we weren't budging it stepped out of it's hiding place and lowered it's head stiffly, flattened it's ears and bared it's bloody fangs.
I gulped. If that thing got anywhere near Kougu especially, we were screwed.
Another figure, a much larger, bear-like animal appeared by it's frail mate's side. It was sheet white besides it's huge, grey head, and on it's fluffy chest was a faded, red stain.
I didn't even want to know where that stain had come from.
They both began to bark and howl in chorus, the frailer animal dancing anxiously as it did so, it's barks more of a warning than a threat. The larger kanine, however, seemed to be completely in favour of ripping our flesh off. Within seconds the howling had reached it's stomach-churning peak.
Then the human figure appeared.


When Benji disappeared around the corner, Alfredo knew immediately something was wrong. His dogs – his father always claimed the dogs were his but he refused to look after them, and never objected to Alfredo sharing their company, and so the boy secretly claimed the dogs as his own – were never fearful of anything, nor had they ever had reason to run away without cause. Something was wrong.
“Benji!” He hissed, just as Marco's head snapped up and he followed on after his friend. Alfredo watched them both in horror, the running hose in his hand totally forgotten. In fact, it took him a moment to realise the water was not flooding onto his trainers. He swore, flung the hose back on it's stand, turned off the rusty, brass tap and ran out after the two dogs. “Chicos! Retorno... Ahora!”
But it was no use, the two had seen something and they weren't going to stop for anyone. Not even him.
He sprinted outside into the evening, cursing under his breath. If the police had found them, if they were surrounded with no means of escape...
These thoughts caused him to run faster, so fast in fact that he almost ran in front of them both. He fell into a stop just behind the two dogs and stared at them questioningly. “Niños, que esta...”
Marco howled gruffly and Alfredo was forced to look at the intruders eyes-on. It wasn't the police.
No, it was someone much worse.
El Diablo...


Alfredo didn't look at me twice, for his terrified eyes were locked upon Kougu as if he'd just been turned to stone. He staggered backwards as if he'd suffered an invisible blow and turned away to flee. I ran forward to stop him, but this just set the two dogs off again.
Well I obviously wasn't going to be able to wrestle him to the ground. I'd have to stop him another way.
“Alfredo, wait!” This was a stupid idea, I knew it. I doubted Alfredo could understand much English, but if I could assure him we weren't out to kill anyone, he'd help us, wouldn't he?
But he kept running.
“Alfredo... Please!”
I realised I was probably sounding an even more obvious alarm than the two dogs, but it was the best idea I had. His heavy footsteps slowed to silence. He turned back to me, very slowly. Both dogs growled threateningly, warning me not to come any closer.
Alfredo's dark eyes flicked between me and Kougu, and I could tell he was debating on whether or not to run inside and tell them all we'd arrived. He nodded towards Kougu and muttered, “Es el diablo...”
I recognised that term, 'el diablo'. He thought Kougu was a demon, cursed. I sighed and shook my head softly. “We just want Jimmy back.”
The seconds turned to minutes, the dogs kept their guards up. Then Alfredo sighed, mumbled something to the two and pointed to the small shelter behind him. They lowered their heads obediently and trotted away. “Thank you.” I whispered to him, relieved that we were, for now, not in danger of having our throats ripped out. However, Alfredo was not yet finished.
Before we could get any closer to him – we were probably around ten to fifteen metres away from each other – he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a knife, pointing it at us with a trembling hand. I raised my hands just slightly to show him I wasn't armed. He was scared and we all knew it, but the mix of fear and possession of a weapon could be potentially dangerous on both mine and Kougu's part.
“You... Y-you no kill my papa...” He mumbled threateningly, although his tone of voice told me it was more of a question than a threat. Another thing I noticed, he wasn't saying it to me, but to Kougu. Of course, he knew what that young man was capable of.
“Not whilst I'm here.” I assured him. He looked at me, his eyes flicking in anxiety and I responded with a tiny smile.
He nodded and slipped the knife into his trainer so that neither of us would try and take it. “Jimmy está in the... Er... The... Room de- Perdoname. The room de presentación. Um...”
I stared at him, struggling to understand his thick accent. His knowledge of English was evidently not all that great.
Then it made sense. The presentation room!
“Thank you.” I muttered to him and gestured for Kougu to follow me. I knew exactly where that room was. “I appreciate it.” I didn't really know why I was still talking to him because I doubted he understood me, but he deserved some thanks. I turned back to Kougu and jerked my thumb towards the back entry. Come on, we'll take the stairs. It doesn't take thirty seconds to get up there if we're quick.”
With that I flashed Alfredo a quick smile and ran into the building.

(((Apologies, it's rubbish and I did have a bit more to write in mind, but I'm going on holiday tomorrow for five days and won't be able to bring the laptop, plus there's a big last-minute rush to get everything sorted. Hope this is enough to get at least a short post down I may talk to you before I go, but not too sure. :/ ))

((Posted ))

((Not sure if this will be good enough. I was pretty tired, and went a little dazed half way through writing it... Plus, to use the modern-day slang term, it is totally 'depro'. I needed a good means of venting, though, and this worked well. Thank you for posting and giving me the opportunity.
I'm feeling that these characters need a serious bonding session sometime soon. XD

Anyway, hope it's okay.

Don't know what I'll do without you for 5 days...
Hope you have fun, though. <3 ))

At Charlie’s nod, Kougu gathered his determination, and prepared to enter the building – but before he could make a move toward it, Charlie’s voice grabbed his attention – her words clearly contradicting her gesture.
“No, Kougu. I'm not ready to go in.”
He released the tension that had built in his shoulders, and turned back to face her, a politely questioning expression on his face.
She met his gaze harshly, and as she stepped toward him, his expression faltered. The determination seeped from him, and he shifted uncertainly from foot to foot under the intensity of Charlie’s gaze. Why did he get the impression that something bad was about to happen…?
Trusting his instincts, Kougu braced himself – but it still was not enough to protect him from what came next.
“What, do you seriously think I'm prepared to run off and leave you to slaughter everyone in that building?”
A sharp intake of breath showed that Kougu had clearly taken this comment the wrong way, and that he had taken it hard. He seemed to quail beneath Charlie’s gaze, and his shoulders slumped forward – like a puppet on dropped strings. Charlie was right, of course… But the truth hurt. She was supposed to be the one who had faith in him. The one who stupidly and inexplicably trusted him, even when he begged her not to.
He had always tried to wish away that dangerous aspect of Charlie’s personality… But now that it seemed to be gone, he realised how much it had meant to him… How much he had needed it.
He gulped slightly, and dropped his gaze to the ground – cheeks flushing in shame as he let Charlie’s words replay in his head.
”… slaughter everyone…”
He seized his lip in his teeth, and bit down gradually harder until it felt hot against his tongue. He felt like a monster… And he hated it.
“Jimmy'll be okay with keeping his head down. But you...”
Somehow, these words came as another blow. Once again, it seemed Jimmy was better than him. Sure, Jimmy would keep his head down… But he, Kougu, would just get in the way. Like always, he would be the problem – not the solution.
Prickly Goosebumps accosted him – and under influence of insecurity, he absentmindedly wrapped his arms around himself, as though shielding himself from the world.
He was in a bad frame of mind now – a very bad one. And somehow, every word Charlie said seemed to hold the same meaning in his mind: She didn’t want him any more.
Try as he might, he couldn’t get the idea out of his head… It was as if his emotions were bruised, and the tiniest little prod at them hurt like the punch of an iron fist.
Just as he was beginning to sink into self-pity, Charlie finished her previous thought – and finally, Kougu was given a flash of hope.
“You of all people should know you're not going anywhere with those wounds. As soon as all this is over I'm having Jimmy ring for back-up transport and you're going straight home... To bed.”
So Charlie was patronising him, but he couldn’t have cared less. Her scolding tone was music to his ears – because it proved something that he had been struggling to believe recently.
She cared about him.
She still cared…
Relief overcame him so strongly that he didn’t even trust himself to speak – so Kougu merely swallowed thickly to get a grip on himself, then nodded solemnly. He almost wanted to smile, but he couldn’t. Not quite. Not just yet…
“Face it, Kougu. We're in this together. I'm not leaving you behind.”
This determined statement drew another sharp intake of breath from Kougu – only this time it was from sheer gratitude. If Charlie could know how much it meant to him to hear that…
A shaky breath escaped his lips, and Kougu clung to the soft echo of Charlie’s words in his ears – savouring them like a sweetness on the tongue.
”…In this together…” “…Not leaving you…”
Relief and gratitude crashed over him in waves, and as his emotion intensified, he could decide if he wanted to laugh or cry… If he wanted to hug Charlie with all the strength left in him, or spill the last of his blood to free himself from the pain of emotion.
Unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately – he did not have time to react at all, for at that moment, a loud growling split the growing silence.

((You’ve already typed all this, so I’m pretty much skipping it… XD ))

When he turned around, he saw a pair of dogs – one looking eerily threatening, and the other somewhat pathetic by comparison. Both stood with hackles raised – clearly intent on attacking.
Kougu watched them calmly, and found himself wondering mildly what had become of the cat from before. He tended to like animals – and something about his quiet, sensitive disposition seemed to have rather a soothing effect on them – but he had a feeling that this would not be the case with these dogs. They were protecting their territory, and Kougu would not be surprised if they had been trained to attack…
Thus, it was with a mixture of relief and nervousness that he saw a human appear behind them.
Kougu recognised the boy at the same moment that he recognised Kougu.
Alfredo… He thought to himself, definitely relieved now.
If only for a moment…
Alfredo met his gaze, and the look in his eyes cut Kougu deeply. Without a second thought, Alfredo turned to flee.
With Alfredo’s look of absolute horror burning his retinas, Kougu stumbled backwards as though struck by a physical blow – feeling dizzy all of a sudden as his will began to leave him, and the physical pain began poking at the hole in his defences that the emotional pain had caused.
All he heard was his own heartbeat, and he watched as though in a dream as Charlie ran after Alfredo.
Funny… He knew that what she was doing was right, but still he couldn’t shake an unexpected feeling of regret. He half wished that she had run toward him instead… He really needed her at that moment.
The moment the thought struck him, however, Kougu dismissed it with annoyance. He was being pathetic… But still.

He watched in a daze, not really taking in what was happening, as Charlie called after Alfredo – causing the younger boy to stop and turn back. Still, Kougu took nothing in, until Alfredo’s near-incoherent mutter struck him with the force of a sledgehammer.
“Es el diablo...”
Kougu gasped despite himself, one hand automatically darting to cover his heart, and clutching desperately at his bloodstained shirt as Alfredo’s words pulsed through him like poison in his bloodstream.
A demon.
A devil.
That was what the boy saw him as… Exactly what he saw himself as. Exactly what he was…
With Charlie by his side, he had almost forgotten… But now, suddenly, it all came rushing back.
The screams of friends, family and strangers alike. Helpless pleas choked through dying blood. Merciless slaughtering of the innocent, by his own bloody hand.
The memory of it overwhelmed him, and Kougu staggered back a step, falling against the wall for support.
His pale face was freakishly expressionless in response to the emotional turmoil raging within him – but despite this, it was clear that something was terribly wrong.
It was as though something had died inside him. He seemed delicate and fragile… As though if he fell down, he might never get up again.

Again, he sank into a daze as Charlie and Alfredo spoke. Only when the boy drew his knife, did Kougu show some response. His head lifted slightly, and he stared longingly at it – imagining the savage pleasure of lashing it across his pale wrists, and draining all that was left of the stubborn blood binding him to life.
He soon dismissed the thought, though – and slipped back into his daze until Charlie turned back to him. She said something – but he didn’t hear. Or perhaps he just didn’t listen…
Only when she gestured with her thumb did he understand.
He stood with robotic obedience, and stumbled forward in the direction she indicated – moving like am old, overworked mill donkey.
His will was gone entirely, and it was all he could do to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
I can’t go any more… He sobbed frantically to himself – his expression completely neutral throughout the entire breakdown.
I’m sick of the killing! Sick of being a monster… ‘El diablo…’ This isn’t me. How did it end up like this…?
I wish I was dead.
Kill me now…
Please, please let it end. Let it… End.
I’ve had enough, I just can’t take it any more. Not another minute. I can’t go on!!! Why the Hell do I keep walking forward, when I know I can’t cope with any of this?
He tripped over a stone in his path, and the resulting stumble almost brought him to his knees. Despair welled up in him, and though he righted himself, he couldn’t make himself take another step. He just didn’t have the will. He had… Given up.
“Charlie…” He whispered, gasping in shallow, desperate breaths. “I… I can’t…” His voice trembled slightly, and had his expression shown the despair he felt, it would have been heartwrenching.
As it were, it barely showed anything at all – but there was something in the way he looked at Charlie that showed the deadly instability of his state.
Years upon years of bottling fierce emotions… Of running from pain, and shouldering a burden of blame far too big to bear. Years of battling on when he was finished from the start…
It was all too much, and it was finally beginning to catch up with him.
He was ‘el diablo’. He was a devil – pure evil, and nothing more. Charlie had given up on him (He had conveniently forgotten his earlier elation upon hearing her words: ‘we’re in this together’.) and he had lost all that was dear to him.
He loathed himself with a passion too great to explain, and life was just an endless Hell of torture.
“I just… Can’t… Any more.”
A soft breath that might have been a sob or a laugh was wrenched from his lips, and he shook his head.
His right arm was twitching and trembling violently at his side – his fingers straining toward the gun as he held his arm determinedly steady.
He so desperately wanted to end it there and then…
“Un diablo vive en el infierno…” He choked, steadying himself with a pale, bloodstained hand as he glanced back over his shoulder at Alfredo.
‘A Devil lives in Hell.’
I can’t go on… Kougu thought grimly, But if I must give up now, at the very least – I’ll do so with my pride intact.
His knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on the wall, turning himself to meet Alfredo’s eye. Instead of hanging his head in defeat, Kougu merely nodded respectfully, and murmured a quiet apology.
“Nunca quise causan dificultades, Alfredo... Lo siento…”
‘I never meant to cause you hardship, Alfredo… I am sorry.’
Though he tried to hide it, the haunted expression in his face was evident.
He was falling apart at the seams – and this time, he didn’t think he could keep it together.
The only thing he could think of was how desperately he wanted to die… But as always, the luxury of death came at too high a cost.
He couldn’t go on – but he couldn’t stop here, because he had promised Charlie that he would never try to commit suicide again… And Kougu never broke a promise.

Finally, the daze was lifted, and a goal formed in his mind with perfect clarity.
A pledge, made long ago, with a man who was somehow ally and enemy all at once…
”Save a bullet for me.”
Jimmy.
Kougu needed Jimmy.
He had to save Jimmy… This was his last hope.

Kougu took a deep breath to steel himself, and his shaking hands formed fists of determination – empty of the gun handle they so longed to grasp.
His determination was reinstated… Though with a completely different goal in mind.
It’s a good thing you still love Jimmy, Charlie… Kougu thought silently, taking savage pleasure in the cruel effect his own thoughts had on him, Because when all this is over, he’ll be what you’re left with.
Jimmy… Not Kougu. Because you know, truthfully, I didn’t have a heart to give away from the start…
Clenching his jaw, Kougu pushed away from the wall and began striding forward as though he had never even planned to stop.
“Come. Let’s get Jimmy.”

((Keeping this bit very short, in case I accidentally mess up whatever you were planning… I can easily edit. XD Sorry I dodn’t leave you much to reply to.  ))



He ran with Charlie to the presentation room, where Jimmy was being held captive. Charlie reached the door first, and when she tried to wrench it open, Kougu soon came to the conclusion that it was locked.
“Let me…” He murmured, stepping gently past her, and kneeling beside the door.
He produced a handy hairpin, which he kept for this exact purpose, from his pocket – and began wriggling it up and down in the lock of the door, making quiet clinking sounds.
Finally, the lock yielded, and the door creaked open under the gentle pressure Kougu exerted on the doorhandle.
The moment he entered the room, he hushed Jimmy with a quick “Sssh.”, before his eyes had even adjusted to the gloom.
A moment later, he located Jimmy tied to a chair in the middle of the room. Kougu rushed to his side, and began silently hacking at the rope with his handy pocket knife – which admittedly was somewhat blunt from its incident with the junkyard gate…
“We don’t have much time.” Kougu informed Jimmy under his breath, “So if you’re hurt, you’d better walk it off fast.”
Finally, the last rope fell free, and Kougu caught Jimmy’s arm to support him as the yielding pressure of the ropes allowed him to tilt forward.
“Let’s go. Quickly, before they come… None of us are in any shape to fight.” He glanced over his shoulder at Charlie, and watched her for a minute.
Still, no smile would come to his face.
He wondered if the muscles that lifted his cheeks had been severed…
“Everybody ready to make a quick getaway?” He asked softly, his voice seeming slightly weaker on each word.
He had absentmindedly lifted a hand to his bleeding midriff again, he realised.
Blood soaked most of his shirt, now. It was hard to tell what colour it had been before… Yet still, Kougu seemed to feel no pain.

((Just going to skip right to it, because the ideas are threatening to leave me... -_- ))


Darkness.
Jimmy scrunched his eyes closed, his throbbing head bowed weakly, his bleeding chin pressed against his bruised chest. His breath was shallow and uneven, bile left a sickly taste at the tip of his gullet. He felt nothing but agony.
It hurts... He thought emptily, his bloodshot eyes seemingly burning beneath his eyelids. His eardrums roared with the echoes of his previous screams and Antonio's menacing laughter. The Spaniard knew he had broken him, as it was what the evil bastard relished most – besides gaining wealth. Jimmy didn't think he believed he had betrayed him, but that he had not had a victim in a while, and he missed the rush of causing pain. What other way was there to tear someone up than betraying them and killing their friends in front of them?
Jordan. His most trusted companion. And Mike. They had been loyal to him, stood by him, took part in making what he had become.
What he had been. Powerful. Feared.
He shook his head and let out a long, bereaved sigh. Who was he trying to kid? He was nothing. Had always been nothing but a rebellious teenager. Even when he passed twenty, he hadn't grown out of that state of mind. He was feared by the elderly simply because he shouted abuse and vandalised their territory. Shop keepers feared him because he broke their windows and stole the stock from their shelves. The police...
The police didn't fear him. They never did. They just saw him as a nuisance and the only reason why he was never caught was because he was good at hiding.
Hiding, like a coward.
That's all he was. A coward. He let other people die before him, and what had he done to avenge them? Nothing.
There he sat, shattered and broken. The thick, metallic taste of blood taunted his taste buds. His spirits had left him. He felt vulnerable, and there was nothing he could do about it.
What's more, there was something Antonio wasn't telling him about Charlie. The swine was hiding something. Just thinking about it made him feel sick.
Or that might had been to do with the blows he took to his stomach earlier...

A deafening rattle interrupted his thoughts. He slowly raised his head and opened his eyes to see what was going on, then suddenly realised his eyes were still tightly shut and fluttered them open, groaning at the pain it brought to a spot at the back of his brain. It was so dark... It hurt. He wondered briefly if he'd ever see the light of day again.
Then, as if his prayers had been answered, the door swung open to reveal two dark silhouettes. Jimmy winced at the sudden adjustment and squinted at the figures, realising they weren't the Spaniards he was expecting – probably to beat him up again – and watched them with a slight rush of emotion as one knelt by his side. He recognised the shaggy haircut immediately.
“K-Kougu?” He whispered, suddenly confused. Why would this young man come after him? Didn't he hate him? It made no sense... “What're y-...”
A petite female figure floated besides him, almost angelic, and it all dawned on him. Of course Kougu had come, because Charlie had evidently given him no choice. But she couldn't be here... Because Antonio needed her. Jimmy had already seen how weak Kougu was, and he wasn't going to be able to protect her for long. Neither of them could be here... Not if they wanted to leave in the state they came.
Relief aside, Jimmy's gaze snapped with unusual force towards Kougu, who had already begun cutting away at the ropes binding Jimmy's hands to the back of the chair. He said something, btu the words were just echoes in Jimmy's dizzy mind. He had one wish. Just one.
“Get Charlie out of here.” He hissed furiously. “You have no idea what Antonio's planning. If they find you...”
But if was too late, his hands were free and Jimmy realise then that those ropes had been the only things holding him up. He slumped forward weakly, just in time to be caught by Kougu's surprisingly strong hands. In one swift movement he was pulled to his feet, and Jimmy was baffled at how quick he was able to stand. Perhaps he wasn't as broken on the outside as he'd first thought. He'd not really put up much of a fight when they had begun to beat him, but really, he saw no point. He was as good as dead and he knew it. So why, after all that had happened, why did Charlie insist saving him?
As if calling out to beware him of it's presence, the bullet wound on his arm suddenly began to throb violently and the limb fell to his side, feeling oddly heavy. This weakened the rest of his body so much that he ended up falling limp from Kougu's' grip and sank to his knees.
It was no use, they'd have to leave without him.
“Go...” He whispered to them, waving them away with his other hand. “Get out of here before Tony finds you.”

“A bit late for that, don't you think?” A thick, male voice came from around the corner and before any of us had any chance to flee, Antonio was at the doorway, leaning coolly on the snow-white frame with his arms crossed over his chest. I spun round, realising I was the closest one to the door out of the three of us, and began to back up protectively towards Kougu and Jimmy, eyes locked on the older male. Being the only totally fit one out of the three of us, I felt it was up to me to make sure neither of them were harmed any further than they already were.
The light from outside the room beamed in, revealing only me as I was shadowing the other two in the position I was stood. As soon as he saw me, Antonio's dark eyes shone. He smiled silkily at me and opened his arms, as if he expected me to run right into them the minute he did so. “Ah, Charlie. I'm so glad you came.”
I heard movement from behind me, a faint cough, probably from Jimmy, and Antonio frowned. Raising an eyebrow he reached over and flicked on the light switch.
His eyes ran over the scene, Kougu stood beside Jimmy, who was knelt weakly, gripping his bloody arm. To my surprise, Tony wasn't angry. He didn't call his men to tie Jimmy up again, nor did he order them to shoot Kougu. If anything, he looked vaguely disappointed. “I see, you brought company. No matter.” He inhaled a breath, forcing a smile at Kougu, and gestured for us both to follow him. “Come. I have something to show you both.”
He his back towards another room, but none of us moved. At the silence that followed, Antonio obviously noticed this and turned back to face us all. His face showed nothing but complete relaxation, like he didn't have a care in the world. His laugh lines were deeper than ever, giving the illusion that he was cheerful. The spring in his step told me he was somewhat excited, although I didn't know what for.
“Come on, amigos! El tiempo pasa inexorablemente.”
I had no idea what he was talking about there, other than it was some proverb about time. (As a translation, I know now, it means 'time and tide waits for no man' or 'time is of the essence'). Two men behind him cocked their heads subtly towards the direction he was going in, their eyes threatening as they glared at me, pistols in hand. I turned back to Jimmy, silently hoping he would just hold on and that Antonio would not harm him further. Besides, if he did, if he had the nerve to do it whilst I was in the room...
Well, I didn't know what I'd do. But he'd certainly regret it afterwards.
Jimmy struggled to stand then, and when I knelt down to lend him a hand, one of the men said in a gruff voice, “Leave him. He's seen it already.”
I frowned at them. “Seen what?”
“Siguiendo.” At first, I thought this was what we were going to see, and it puzzled me. But when they continued to wave impatiently for us to follow, I realised 'siguiendo' had been part of the order. I sighed and turned back to Jimmy. His sad eyes stretched up to meet mine, and I felt a sudden rush of affection towards him.
What he must have gone through that evening... Losing two of his best friends and being kidnapped by someone he thought he knew, then getting the breath beaten out of him so much that even his will to live had left him.
I pressed a hand against his cheek, caressed my thumb over his good eye, which had began to water at my touch. His icy-blue eyes that had once looked at me with so much love and tenderness, that face I had once cupped in my tiny hands and kissed like it was the last thing I'd ever do... It was surprising how much love I felt towards him, when I'd been so incredibly young when we'd started 'going out', not to mention the amount of times he'd hit me...
But I couldn't help but empathise for him. He didn't deserve all of this. It wasn't like he'd asked for two of his friends to be shot right in front of him.
“Can you stand?” I asked him calmly.
He looked away, shook his head. “I don't know.” He said, his voice shaking.
I straightened up and offered him my hand. He could shrug Kougu off but he couldn't turn me down. “Come on.”
He stared at my hand longingly, then for a moment I saw the fear in his eyes. The fear that if he got up, he'd be pushed back down again just when he thought he'd got his strength back. With a sigh he grasped my hand and slowly pulled himself to his feet. I gave him a quick, soft smile before turning away and following the others towards another room. So what if they said he couldn't come? If I was the one Tony wanted then so be it, but I was sick of being the poor, helpless little child he thought I was. I was doing this my way, whether he liked it or not.


“Alfredo!” The Spaniard called out, his beady, dark eyes scanning the area for his son. “Where is that stupid, good for nothing...”
“Here, papa.” The young boy mumbled as he reached the top of the long,spiral stair case. The two dogs danced by his feet, weaving between his legs until they tired and trotted away back to the show room where their bloody feast was hiding behind the curtains. Antonio kept walking until he reached the room where the child was being kept. His son followed him obediently and when he asked what his father wanted, Antonio instructed him to fetch his guitar.
Besides, Tony knew, the child wasn't going to fall asleep on it's own.
A hermano was already in the room, sat by the cot with a milk bottle in hand. Alfredo disappeared around the corner to a store room and retrieved his guitar, then came back into the room and sat in the very far corner of the room, as far away as possible from the baby. Tony rolled his eyes. Must his son be so touchy?
Trying his best to ignore him, Tony turned back to the two newcomers and gestured towards the cot. “This is my new son, Leónardo Iñigo Martinez.”

I stared at the cot, puzzled to know why Antonio was showing me this. A baby... I had to admit, it was a bizarre sight, Antonio with a baby son. I mean, he looked fairly normal with Alfredo, but Alfredo was in his late teens. Seeing a man with the potential to kill everyone in the building without so much as blinking – he and Kougu weren't so different in that sense – it seemed odd that he could look at a child with such tenderness...
But wait a minute, he wasn't looking at it with tenderness. He was looking at that baby as if it was his new toy, or like he was showing us a mountain of gold as oppose to a child.
I shrugged questioningly at him, still having no idea what his catch was.
Antonio did nothing but smile at me; a sly, cunning smile that warned me he was planning something secretly in his mind.
Then something happened. The baby, who had been quiet for our entire stay, began to cry. It wasn't a little gurgle, either. It was a high-pitched wail that pierced your eardrums like a thousand sharp needles. I winced.
The man who had been sat by the cot, waving the bottle over the baby had evidently given up, and had reached into the cot and gripped the child by the shoulders, raising it into his arms. It's head slipped backwards slowly, but when it did this it's tiny mouth opened wider, and it's minute, pink tongue had stretched outwards as it let out another scream.
I totally forgot about Antonio then, because an allarm went off.

When my mother gave birth to Alex and I was only four, the one thing I always heard hr nag my dad about was that when a baby is in it's early period, it alwayds had to have it's head supported. Always, because it's bones were still developing and it's spine especially was not always strong enough to carry such a large head.
By the pinkish tone of this child's skin and it's bonny size, it couldn't have been any older than a week or so, perhaps two weeks at most. Plus, the man handling it didn't seem to have that much experience with handling it.

“You need to support his head.” I called to him, praying he'd understand me. But he simply stared at me, his thick eyebrows knitting together quizzically.
“Qué?”
I glanced at the child anxiously. I didn't know why I cared so much, possibly because it reminded me so much of Alex, besides it's dark complexion and tufty, black hair. Besides that, it was only a baby.
“It's head...” I pointed towards the back of my head. “You need to support it.”
Antonio bent down and whispered, “He doesn't understand English.”
I stared at him incredulously. If that was the case, why wasn't he translating for me?
We locked eyes for a few long moments, my eyes narrowed, Antonio's lips twitched a crooked smile, almost daring me to do what he knew what I wanted to do. To go and sort the baby myself.
I sighed, concluding this was the only way to show the man what I meant. I knew Kougu wouldn't be happy with me for going against what he'd said, but I had little choice in the matter.
Huh, so much for being in charge.
I shoved past him and wandered over to the cot, where the Spaniard had placed the child back in the cot in attempt to quieten it once more, but I knew this wouldn't work. Cautiously, I gestured for him to move out of the way so that I could show him what I meant. I cupped the baby's head in one hand and wrapped the other around it's body, gently lifting it away from it's bed and cradling it in my arms.
At this point, Alfredo had began to play. (He's playing 'Guitar Romance' by Armik if you want a quick listen. It's pretty repetitive, so if you think you'll get bored just listen to the first minute or so to get the feel of it. Let's just say, this charri has his talents. )
León's huge, sea-blue eyes – that hadprobably come from the mother, because Antonio definitely didn't have even slightly blue eyes - stared curiously at me for a moment, his cries dying away to strange, gurgling sounds. I did nothing but smile at him, because just the warm smell that radiated from him, the scent that only newborn babies could create, was addictive. ( ) His chubby cheeks, those shocking beautiful eyes, the pale lips that were opening and closing in time with his constant gurgles, like he was talking to me in his own language. He continued to chat away to me, telling me the story of his short life, and I just smiled warmly back at him. He was so adorable... Just looking at him made me want to smile. His tiny fists had loosened and he was now reaching out to poke my face like it was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen. He brought up a little finger and poked my nose, and I wrinkled it in response. His gurgles spluttered into quiet laughter and when I looked down, he was smiling. I wrinkled my nose again.
“He's beautiful,” I whispered, to no one in particular.


Antonio hadn't taken his eyes off Kougu since Charlie had gone to see the child. He said nothing, did nothing, but raise an eyebrow and smile smugly at him.
Just like that, I'm already winning, he thought to the young man secretly. And all I needed was something she liked. And guess what, that baby didn't cost a penny! It was going to, I admit. I offered the whore thousands for her child, and she accepted, but once the child was born she went back on the deal, said she loved the child. Get this, she said money couldn't buy the baby. Bull! Money buys everything. Fact.
So I killed her. I'd already given her money to carry the baby for nine months, everything was fine. But when she'd finally had it, she had the nerve to say she didn't want to hand it over. The filthy cow. (Moooo :3)
But it doesn't matter now, because Charlie is mine. Have you got that? Mine.

Try and take her from me now. Go on. I dare you...

((Got a playlist for you :3

~ Guitar romance - Armik
~Fairytale - Einaudi (This reminds me of Charlie looking at the little tot nad eing all dreamy. I know, I'm NOT osessed )
~Alfredo's Theme - Giovanni (This one's just for the hell of it. I discovered it on iTunes and it's actually really nice. A bit too happy for him yet, but never mind )