Note: I am excited for Badr and Laila's reunion and hope you will be too! Please leave comments and thanks you very much also to those of you who have voted! Also, this chapter is not as action packed or anything, but more interesting things are coming following it. In the mean time enjoy!
I grinned to myself, mirth humming through me. My chest was actually numb- I could barely feel anything. I did enjoy making sound effects though, just to see Laila's expression.
She'd been freaking out being so close to me I knew, and it always had me on the verge of laughing. She was so cute. I sighed and waited for them, wondering if I ought to knock myself out before he started with those stitches.
"Right then Badr" Bilal said ten minutes later, clasping his gloved hands together, "Lets get this over and done with"
I eyed the equipment he'd arranged on this tray, as though it were some kind of exhibit. I wasn't a fan of pain and I had a feeling as non-painful as my chest felt right now this was going to hurt. Laila hovered behind Bilal, looking positively terrified as he started getting the needle ready. I almost laughed despite myself, she wasn't even the one getting the stitches!
I couldn't help but compare her to the other girls I'd come across, hung out with, whatever. They'd been mostly Cedochi or school girls, and not one of them was like Laila. The ones in Cedochi had a standard of dress, like that of super models, with make-up that was constantly professional. They were sure of what they did and had the toughness not unlike most males. They didn't care for love more than sex, and certainly did not have a problem twirling the average guy around their fingers and used them well until they were trashed. Very few of them were married or allowed themselves kids. Kids were an unnecessary blot on their highly successful careers and besides, they were vulnerable while carrying a child. That is not to say that Cedochi did not provide protection- they did, but enemies were a force to be reckoned with and there were a lot of those if you were in this circle.
Then there were girls at school- the hot sporty, popular group who only lacked in the crime department, the ones that didn't have a care in the world but just wanted to live life in the moment, the ones that were buried in their books, the ones that painted themselves a mask when they were at school, and the ones that were involved in everything possible and continuously tried to drag you into one of their clubs. But, for the record, even though I'd had the attention of a lot of girls, I'd never ever come across someone with the character of Laila Mohammed. She was that kind of girl I could have done anything with and found that I was the one holding back. There was something about her that made her so enticing, so addicting, and yet boundaries were thrown up everywhere without one word from her. On one hand she studied hard out whenever she could, but also woke up at 3 am to watch football. She was never scared to snap back at anything and yet never wanted to offend anyone. She felt as though she were a burden and hurt for me and Yassin, although I was sure she would have still hurt for us regardless of who we were.
And she was cute.
Hell, she was sooo cute. Perhaps it was because I hadn't seen her in so long, but her every action made a rush of fondness course through me, and I wanted nothing more than to continue our idle banter.
"Are you sure about this?" She asked Bilal incredulously as he started observing my chest for a starting point, "maybe we should just wait till morning and bring in a doctor..."
"Laila I've done this hundreds of times, it'll be fine"
"Eh maybe you should listen to her" I piped in, "seeing as you have nothing to knock me out with"
"Suck it up little bro" Bilal replied with a crooked smile, "Better now than when its infected"
"I think you should tie me back or something" I offered, "otherwise I might hit you unintentionally"
My brother raised an eyebrow, "If you did that you would be dead" he joked.
"Maybe you could hold on to something" Laila pointed out. She looked around for something that fit her description, but I caught her hand.
"Badr-!" she gasped in shock.
"This'll do" I replied roguishly, winking at her. She looked scandalized.
Bilal sighed, shaking his head at me.
"Just let him Laila, this once"
She glared at me, her worry replaced with disapproval. I grinned and pulled her so she was sitting. But then when Bilal finally decided to start she gave my hand a reassuring squeeze which I returned, my gaze fixed on the ceiling.
It was painful, but not as bad as I'd thought it was going to be. Bilal's hands that were usually used for beating the crap out of people were suddenly gentle and soft as they could be, working expertly on each one of my long gashes. I squeezed my eyes shut as he worked, my breathing coming out shakily. I kept expecting a jolt of pain, and my hand held on to Laila's tighter and tighter.
"Erm Badr?" she asked timidly after a good twenty minutes of this. I opened my eyes and gazed at her in answer, not trusting myself to open my mouth. She looked apologetic but pointed at her hand in my grasp, "do you think you could loosen up a bit?"
I resisted the wild urge to laugh and settled for a small smile instead, loosening my grip. Her fingers were pink and I felt kind of sorry for her, hoping I hadn't crushed any bones.
Finally Bilal finished up and Laila shot up from her seat as soon as I released her hand.
"I'll get him something to eat, then I reckon we should all sleep. It's so late"
"That's right, bring me a bite too?" Bilal asked.
"Sure"
I watched her as she disappeared into the kitchen, unconsciously massaging her poor hand. I chuckled despite myself and Bilal raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"You reckon you didn't fracture anything?" he asked, now also grinning.
"Hopefully not"
"Don't move, I'm going to check on Yassin"
"Yes boss"
I turned my head to look at my brother, asleep. He was facing me, his hair messier then I think I'd ever seen it. Yassin looked paler then usual, and a pinkish color was streaked across his cheek bones. I knew that look, it was the one he had when he had fever. Looking at Yassin it seemed like my wounds were nothing. They looked scary yes, but he'd been stabbed right through the arm. He wasn't even supposed to be at home, but in the hospital where he could be looked after carefully. I made a mental note to ensure he did get admitted tomorrow morning.
My backup cellphone beeped. It was a missed call from Jax.
Right.
I'd sent him as soon as I'd made my way out of the empty prison I'd been chained in with all three bastards locked together, dangling off the ceiling. Because there was no way I was going to be able to drag them around with me and I'd lost my phone, I'd sent for Jax and a few others to collect them as soon as I got to the nearest booth. We'd been out in the middle of nowhere, and the building had been clearly abandoned. Although I wanted to shoot all three of them after they'd had absolutely zero information to offer about the Green Snake, I hadn't been able to as there was no gun, not even on the school kid.
Speaking of him, I'd now seen his face.
And I would not forget it.
I called Jax back.
"Yo" I greeted.
"Badr we have a problem" Jax's voice cut at me like daggers.
"What?" my voice was low and dangerously calm. This was not happening.
"There was no one there when we got there. The chains were broken- I think they escaped?"
"You think?" my fist curled, "WHAT THE FUCK TOOK YOU SO LONG? HOW DID THEY ESCAPE?"
"Badr it wasn't our fault. We got there as fast as we could- they must have had outside help"
I swore so violently that Laila popped her head around the corner, looking thoroughly disapproving.
"Listen, the game's stepping up. I'm on their trail right now- the gravel isn't good for hiding tracks. I think they were headed out of the city-"
"I'm putting everyone I can on the roads" I cut in, "And I mean everyone, if I hear there was any one lounging at home I will personally pay them a visit"
"As you see fit" came Jax' quiet reply.
I slammed the phone down with so much force I may have broken it, breathing very heavily. I couldn't take it anymore. If I didn't find and kill this boy soon I was going to change my name. I wanted badly to take to the highway myself. They couldn't have gone too far could they?
Oh fuck it.
Ethan (rewind back a few hours):
Ethan wanted to jump off a cliff. What had he been thinking hiring these two idiots? Stern and Frank had done nothing but bicker for the past hour and his head was throbbing. They were all tied together with the whip and the chain, so expertly that there was no way they could untie each other. Stern was also upside down, and that was doing wonders for his already very small brain.
"I told you that guy was insane" he rambled, "As soon as he opened his eyes I knew we were goners"
"You whimp, if you'd acted faster maybe he wouldn't have had the chance to get away" Frank growled from above.
"I'm new to this stuff okay?" Stern replied defensively, "you're the one with experience why didn't you do something?"
"You bastard! Who was closer, you or me?"
"SHUT UP!" Ethan roared, his temper getting the better of him.
"I quite agree" a cool, cold voice sounded from the shadows. Ethan whipped his head up, his eyes darting to where he presumed the figure was standing.
"Who's there?" Stern demanded, panicking.
"Friend, not foe"
From the shadows of the black corridor emerged a tall figure, clad completely in black from head to foot. Nothing could be seen of him except his eyes, which were a vivid green. There was something unsettlingly familiar about those eyes, but Ethan could not put his finger on it.
"If you are a friend" he stated, making his voice sturdy, "then untie us."
The man or boy seemed to smile slightly. He darted forward in one fluid movement and was suddenly expertly tugging at knots around Stern. In a minute the fool fell face down with a yelp. He then proceeded to Ethan and Frank, slicing away here, untying there, and very soon both were free.
Straightening up, they looked to him for instructions and he jerked his head at the guy, "what now?"
"You two" he answered, pointing at Stern and Frank with his gloved fingers, "get out of here, there's a truck waiting for you. You come with me"
Ethan complied, following him in the opposite direction the Stern and Frank. They headed down the dark, empty corridors and rooms of the abandoned prison, further and further until they reached what could only be described as a back entrance.
"Our ride is here?" Ethan enquired.
"We go on foot until the gravel ends"
"You...you're creating a false trail" Ethan realized, "aren't you?"
"Something like that"
"Will Stern and Frank be safe?"
"Safer than us. They'll be leaving the city, but we will remain in it. We are not cowards who run away from Cedochi tail between legs."
Something about his voice was triggering a memory very strongly. He knew that voice, but not in the way it was used now. The guy locked gazes with him, almost as if daring him to remember.
"I want to see your face" Ethan demanded suddenly.
"Thought you'd never ask" the guy chuckled. He quickly pushed his hood back, revealing flaxen blond hair. After a moment of hesitation he pushed the face covering down too.
The face that belonged to him was something from a nightmare. It was mangled and twisted in a grotesque way- a complete freak of nature. The piercing green eyes gazed back at Ethan, and suddenly he knew the souls behind all this marring.
"Harrison?"