Fan Fiction ❯ Blue Mercury ❯ Where am I? ( Chapter 4 )

Start: Chapter 4

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

Rose shot from her bed into a sitting position, and then glared across the room towards the screaming clock on a dresser. She immediately scrambled towards it, grabbed it with morning rage, and jerked it back til something gave. Then silence.

She looked around, finding the room like a hotel: A regular, single-sized bed with a small table and lamp beside it, laying on a soft, royal blue carpet, all surrounded with soothing, creamy white walls with a lighter-blue, flower pattern embedded. And two doors. Rose creased her eyebrows not knowing what was going on.

Thinking about last night, she remembered seeing at least two guys failing to follow her discreetly, and then something zoomed over her head with searing heat and… boom. Running over her slightly distorted memory a few times she came up with a few conclusions. None were positive.

"Shit."

Now with a little fear and anger, she scanned the room. Seeming like she didn't see what she was looking for she went to a door, and peeked through the small crack, and found it was a bathroom. She opened the door carefully in case it creaked any. It opened in complete hush. She peered her head through examining the tiled room over, and then closed the door just as carefully. She dropped her head, walked towards the bed, and let herself fall. Also she was naked the whole time.

"Not even a window… damn it," she muttered into the mattress.

"Well we wouldn't want you going anywhere, now would we?"

Rose's eyes shot open and tried to recompose herself from the initial shock, then looked up hoping her face didn't show anything. She found a man whose head was about six inches from the ceiling. He wasn't an ugly man, but nothing to turns heads to. That was kind of harsh, maybe from the thought that she's five minutes from being mutilated by the nasty American that he appears to be, or maybe she couldn't help but think about some things. He hair was back in a ponytail, which didn't look 'him', even though she didn't know him, the ponytail didn't suit him. He also looked like he dressed in the dark, as he was wearing a red, sleeveless shirt covered with a dark blue, plaid shirt with it's sleeves rolled up and hanging loosely at his elbows. And brown pants. No shoes. His hair was a pretty black, with lines of blue painted on different strands of hair. Jesus Christ, he was color-uncoordinated. And as imposing as his height and build was, his stupid grin that seemed to touch the corners of his eyes kept Rose from taking him seriously.

Rose gave him a look that was bordering a glare, and he just stared back with that grin, that stupid grin.

"I'm Jalan."

His voice was deep, with enough potential to be very commanding one, but of course he was apparently in a happier mood that reflected in his tone. And his stupid grin.

"I'm Kar-"

"You mean Ms. Limean?" He said, in which Rose could have sworn there was a mocking tone in his voice, which wouldn't surprise her.

"…Yes," Rose responded in defeat.

"I can see why you're acting as you are, and I assure you, that's not the case. I barely know what's going on, so, after you get dressed we'll talk this out."

He threw some clothes and they plopped beside Rose, and left, shutting the door. Rose, who didn't know whether to be angry, scared, or embarrassed, or maybe just all three.

*******************************

Jalan shut the door, walked through the doorless doorway to the kitchen, and plopped himself up to a marble counter, where which Jake was sitting already trying to drown his morphine out in coffee.

"Well?" Jake asked before taking a sip of his over sugared drink, he had his eyes closed and was moving as if every move he took had potential to kill him, or he was still early in his hangover recovery.

"She's cute." Jalan said with a grin while reaching for an empty cup beside a stove, and the coffee maker placed strategically next to Jake.

"No dummy, I mean is she okay? What's her story? … And how cute?"

Jalan smirked and started pouring the liquid caffeine in the glass, "She's fine from what I can tell, we can both get her story once she comes out… and from the view I got, she was very cute."

Jake grinned, with eyes still closed, carefully sipping his coffee. Jake slowly descended his right hand down and pushed the power button a remote lying on the counter with psychic awareness of all surrounding in his presence, or good memory. Like in all movie clichés, the dusty television hanging on the wall clicked immediately on the news. And, following the cliché conscientiously, there were reporters all over the attack… of Jalan's little incident.

"…All found assiduously slaughtered found in the alley, a little west of the Jackal street, a place disreputable for drug correlated busts and quiescent of most gangs. The theory that seems to capture and satiate most people's mind is that there was a rebel group society, most likely forewarned of the sudden invasion. But there no other bodies supplementary than the Russian soldiers, and there was too much blood to actually make any guesses. So we just don't know. Although there was a pipe with some unsullied blood moderately away from the horrific sight, but we're still waiting for a supposition."

Jake brung his fist down on the power button, Jalan grinned and shook his head in disbelief, "Looks like someone's using their dictionary."

Jake was frowning with a grim look and looked down at his coffee, "Is that your work?"

Jalan blinked away his amused expression but the grin was still in his eyes, "Contrary to what you think, even after I say it, the answer is no."

"You gunna tell the tale?"

"Do really wanna know?"

"Yes."

"All of it?"

"…No."

"Heh, alright, it's like this; On my job I spotted some guys about to jump her, and right in the middle of my oh-so heroic actions," Jalan gestured towards the television, "They came and shit went downhill fast, I just happened to be in the middle of it."

"Is that really s'pose to suffice?"

"Um, for now."

Jake went silent for a few heartbeats with his head tipped down, then looked up opening his eyes, "Ya know… that's pretty damn blunt."

"Yeah, you want more?"

"Not really."

"Alright then."

"Alright then." Jake said with finality.

The shower was heard working, coming from the room with Rose. Simultaneously, Jake and Jalan looked towards the door.

"I guess she's comfortable," Jalan said still looking at the door.

"Looks that way," Jake stated focusing back on his coffee.

"So… what are we going to do? I mean, after this ordeal with her," Jalan question turning back towards Jake.

"Not sure."

"Could be Reiuli's work; drug syndicate kind of thing, right?

"Not sure."

"You think this ties in with the invasion?"

"Not sure."

"Are you acting like that cuz of last night, or are you mad at me?"

Jake froze and seemed to ponder the question, "… Not sure."

Jalan sighed and slumped his head, "Either way, I think were going to need some protection. This could be big, Jake, real big."

"Hyeh, how morbid."

Jalan blinked and studied Jake's face looking for something, "Seriously now, is it me?"

Jake slid out his stool and patted Jalan's shoulder, "A little bit, but I'm getting a ominous feeling about all this. I'm pretty sure my head's mostly clean. I need to do some thinking."

Jake, like Jalan and a few select others, had a past that was his own horrible nightmare, and some things you just had to deal with yourself. Jalan knew this, and when Jake was serious, things were bad despite initial appearance. Then again, Jake is a former monk from the unnamed outskirts of the newly expanded China, despite the fact he looks no way foreign. So Jalan, it was a fifty-fifty thing, or both. Whatever.

"You going to be in time for our little meeting?"

"Maybe, you might want to delay it a bit."

And Jake left.

Jalan stared at the door Jake left in for a few heartbeats.

"Hm."