Maximum Ride Fan Fiction / Maximum Ride Fan Fiction ❯ If I Asked You To, Would You Kill Me? ❯ An Angel and a Devil ( Chapter 20 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Irene Sharda
Sky recounts to Fang his sorrowful past and the chain of events that shaped him into the man that he has now become.

Non Anime: Maximum Ride Fan Fiction / Maximum Ride Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Sci-fi / Romance / Adventure / Action | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 05.23.2008 | Pages: 12 | Words: 24.1K | Visits: 168 | Status: Completed

Chapter 20
“…and that's how I came to be here, and you know the rest.” Fang finally finished.
He had just spent the last hour or so, telling his entire story—from his first days in the School's cages, to his escape with Jeb Batchelder, to Angel's abduction and Jeb's betrayal, then to the flock's escapade in the east with Anne, their discovery of Itex's connection and his capture at the hands of the Erasers, the recent mysterious changes in the physiology of his body, and finally to his recent escape from Jeb's clutches with the help of one-time enemy, Virgo.
Sky had sat and listened intently, only interrupting just to clarify certain details. In the end, he took a sip from his bottled water, thinking silently to himself, deep in thought.
Fang looked up at him slightly unsure of what to do next. Is he mad? Well, he was going to find out about it anyway, I only wish that he'd say something. Then I could know what my next step would be. Will I have to leave? Or will he let me stay? Does he think I could be a threat? Maybe I should just go now, before things become too antsy…
Looking at his host, he smiled at the man still lost in thought. He said softly, “I think you can now understand why I can't stay and put you and your men in danger. You guys have been a godsend, but I'm sure you have your own troubles. One day, maybe I'll be able to pay you back for all the help you've given me. I can introduce you to the flock and stuff…maybe. Don't worry, I have an excellent sense of direction, and I'll be able to find you again.”
He slowly made a move to get up, when Sky's voice caught him. “Sit down, Fang. You're not going anywhere.”
The authority in the man's voice couldn't be denied, and the teen found himself back in his seat at strict attention.
Screwing the top back on his water bottle, Sky arched his finger and looked at the winged boy in front of him. “Fang, I have no intention of throwing you out, neither do I intend on shirking out of my part of the bargain. You have told me all that I need to know. My men are my concern, and so it seems are you. I don't know if it was fate that brought you to me, or just dumb luck, but what I do know is, is that you're staying here for the night, and you will remain a guest here for the time being. Do I make myself clear?”
Fang was scared speechless at the sternness in the man's voice, so that he could only nod in return.
“Now you're probably asking yourself why I would take so many risks with somebody I don't know. Especially, someone with as many problems as you've outlined, with your tales of mad scientists and werewolf creatures and such, right? By all rights, I guess I should simply throw you out for telling such lies.”
“But I'm telling—”
Sky held up his hand, stopping him from saying anymore. “I know you're not lying to me, Fang. Didn't I tell you I can always tell if somebody's lying or not? I mean, as fantastical as your story is, it can't be any harder to believe, than to believe that a fifteen year-old boy can have wings and fly, am I right?”
Well, that made some sense. Fang thought to himself.
Sky went on, his hand absentmindedly fingering the beautiful diamond and silver band on his necklace. “I'm going to tell you why I insist you stay…and also to keep my promise that I made to you.”
His eyes shifted over to the side wall as he began, and Fang followed their direction to see, that he was gazing at the single picture on the bureau, the one that he had noticed earlier.
“Fourteen years ago, I lived in New York. I was a young orphan immigrant without siblings or any prospects in life; growing up with my neglecting uncle, who I ran away from when I was sixteen. Wandering from place to place, I finally found myself in California. Having to work my way through school, and no one really having a care about me, the only thing that really gave me any solace, was my studies. I was very apt towards school, and got along almost on the rank of genius; going through high school, college, and on my last year of medical school when I was only nineteen years-old. During this time, I met a young high school senior, an eighteen year-old young woman named Aya Seika.
“Aya and I…well…there was nothing like the love we had for each other. It was a magic that one can only understand if one experiences it themselves. She was the first person in the world who ever seemed to understand me. After only a couple weeks, she opened up my pain-locked heart, as if she alone had the key. She too was an orphaned refugee who was treated with disdain, and she understood my pain as I did hers. We were drawn to each other, like by magnetism. She was so beautiful, that she couldn't have been from this earth. I fell so in love with her, it was beyond words. The day she graduated from high school, I asked her to marry me, and we did so, the very next afternoon.”
Fang looked back at the photo with a little more consideration. The softly curled snow-blond tresses, surrounding a fair face with Asian features, the petite rosebud-shaped crimson lips, and the dazzling emerald jewels that were her eyes; yes, this woman must have been Aya. He could see it in Sky's eyes as he spoke, and how he looked over at the picture; there was a love…and a pain, that was unlike any other he'd seen. What happened to you Aya?
“The story of the Avenging Angels, or at least how I came into it, started about 4 years ago, in Los Angeles. I continued my education to become a doctor, while Aya worked at a famous manufacturing corporation as a secretary. We lived in a little three room apartment; the two of us, as well as Aya's twin brother. His name was TÅya.”
Things began clicking in place as Fang was able to pair names with the people in the photo. So, the one on the other side of Aya, was her brother, and Sky's brother-in-law! He had a nice-looking, buoyant face to him, his golden-streaked red hair suiting very well with his bright green eyes, which were identical to his sister's in every way. Yet, even though he said they were twins…
“I thought that he was much younger than the woman—Aya. He doesn't look eighteen.” He commented
Sky smiled lightly, “TÅya always had a way of looking younger than he really was. That's why my wife was very protective of him…the two were inseparable, never apart for a long period of time. But, back to the story, TÅya was not a very conscientious guy when I first met him. After graduating from high school, he had no want to go to college, and couldn't land a job. He eventually got involved in an LA gang called, the Fallen Angels.
“We, Aya and I, warned him to get out, but he rarely listened to us. One day, TÅya got involved in some business that left him holding the bag, and being in a lot of trouble with the police. We didn't know what to do. We had no money for a lawyer or bail, everything seemed truly hopeless. And that's when Aya's boss, a man named Damian Stockholm, came to us sympathetically and offered to use his connections to make everything that had happened with TÅya, simply go away! But of course, nothing is that simple. It was only after we agreed and he cleared my brother-in-law's name, that he then came to us with notice of his fee. He said that since we couldn't pay bail, we would recompense it to him in payments: 1,000 dollars a week for a year and a half.”
“What! That's almost 80,000 dollars!” the teen said in surprise, his math skills racing.
Sky chuckled slightly under his breath, “That's what we said. I told him no way, that it was extortion. He answered, or rather threatened, that if we didn't pay, he would give all the information to the police and have TÅya arrested and put away in the worst prison around. And we knew he would do it too. We knew Stockholm had an ear everywhere, from the CIA and INTERPOL, to the Russian and Italian mafias. If he said he could do it, then he could. I told him pointblank that it was blackmail.”
“Then what did he say?”
“He said, and I quote, `Call it what you will, I'll either have the dead presidents on my desk, or I'll have your brother dead in prison. Your choice.' We had little choice, as neither of us was going to give up on TÅya. Aya signed over her paychecks, and I gave out what little I had. Meanwhile, we decided not to tell TÅya of our plight, for fear that he would do something stupid. But to our surprise and dread, two days after returning home—he went right back out riding with the gang again!
I talked with him with more force, even threatening him at times, but he refused to listen. I would have even thought to throw him out of the apartment, but Aya wouldn't even hear of it. But times became desperate; we were running out of money to pay Stockholm. I had become behind in my payments for tuition, and eventually had to drop out at the end of my last year of medical school—it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do…
Aya was working triple overtime, and it still was not enough. I worked full time, but it was just not sufficient funds to go around! We couldn't possibly afford to pay Stockholm and take care of ourselves. TÅya came home and asked me what was up, since he had noticed the changes. I had promised Aya I wouldn't tell him, but my anger got the best of me. I raged at him, how Aya was working herself to the bone, how I had to give up my doctorate, how we had hardly no food in the refrigerator and were behind in the rent, and all because, he had to get himself in trouble and then—knowingly go back to that perilous lifestyle!
TÅya looked at me in shock for awhile, then without saying anything, he left…only to return somberly the next day, not even mentioning the incident!
The day after, I went to Stockholm to explain the situation, about how we had no money to pay him. I still remember the exchange to this day…
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“So you see Mr. Stockholm, there's no way we can pay you this week. We've exhausted all our resources. Sold everything we can, and giving you our full paychecks. I have no way to support my wife, I need time, sir. Some time to at least settle our own finances, and then pay you back in full.”
Damian smiled as he tapped his pen on the tabletop. He could see Karinkov sitting in the chair in front of his desk, looking a little worse for wear. He knew that this day would come eventually. He'd known it when he'd presented the young couple with the “deal”…
Tapping his pen lightly against his fingertips, the sandy-haired, brown-eyed multi-billionaire looked to the window of his spacious office.
“Sky—lark?”
Sky looked up in recognition of his name, “Yes?”
Damian went on, ignoring him, “Skylark? Isn't that some type of girly name? And aren't you Russian, Ukrainian, or something like that, somewhere from over there in the old Soviet wasteland? Your name sure isn't authentic, or did you just get a new one when you got to the States? But why something like, Skylark?”
Sky was a little surprised that the man wasn't even trying to disguise his insults anymore. He gritted his teeth, knowing that meant that they were really in a bind. He didn't like the man, and Damian knew that. And of course, in response, Damian belittled Sky whenever they met; making fun of everything from his background and upbringing, to his name.
Usually, he liked to exchange tit for tat, but he didn't have the patience right now, or the time. “It's just my name, okay? Now can we get back to business?”
Damian turned to face him, “No need to get snippy, Skylark. If I'm not certain, I thought you came over here to ask me for something, right? Now the way I see it, is that you have no money, and you still owe me 69,000, right?”
Karinkov nodded back sullenly.
Damian nodded, “Well then, since Aya's become one of my favorite secretaries, I think I can cut you a break.”
“You will?”
“Yes, I'm going to give you a choice, you can either pay up as you've been doing, with a thousand each week, every month or—you can work off your debt in my employment.”
Sky looked at his in bewilderment. “What?”
“You can either keep doing as you have been doing, or you and Aya can work for me…for nothing.”
“What?! That's insane! I just told you we can't keep paying you; that we've run out of money!”
Stockholm tapped the desk with his pen, “Well then, I guess you don't have that hard of a choice to make. The deal will be 6 years; both you and Aya will work for me without pay, 7 days a week for 16 hours a day, or however many hours I deem necessary. Aya will keep doing what she has been doing, and you will become my personal valet. I just lost my other one in some unhappy circumstances, so this will be just on time. I also understand that you will need a place to stay as well as food, which I will provide. This will be added to your debt, of course.”
Sky looked at him in indignation, slamming his hands on the desk. “That's outrageous and unthinkable! It's illegal, and nothing short of slavery!”
Damian looked at him with calm, amused eyes. “Actually, I think of it more as indentured servitude. And as for it being illegal, you should know by now, that I never play by the rules.”
The Russian-American teen balled up his fists, having seen this kind of behavior before. Money meant power, and those who had it, all had a dogma they lived by that said: Screw the rules, I have money!
Stockholm put the pen down, and looked at Sky seriously, “Look Skylark, I'm really giving you a break here. You know what usually happens to people who owe me money and can't pay. I don't think I have to remind you of any of the gruesome details. I know you're probably tired and want to discuss it with Aya first.”
Getting up, he slowly rounded the desk and stood behind Sky. Putting his hands on the young man's shoulders, and leaning down low, he spoke subtly into his ear. “Now, we wouldn't want anything bad to happen to little Aya now, would we?”
Sky looked over at the man with a dangerous snap to his voice, “If anything ever happens to her, I'll—”
Damian mouth hissed like a snake as he softly laughed, “You'll what? You'll end up in jail or dead, and then what would happen to Aya? She'll get awful lonely, and need some protection, and I'll be there for her, of course.”
“Of course you will…” Sky replied dangerously. It was no secret that Damian liked Aya in more than a professional capacity, and he didn't care if he knew it either. He often warned his wife to stay away from being alone with him, for he was sure that this snake, would try anything.
Damian could feel the hate exuding from the young man who he loved to manipulate…it was so refreshing! “Well just so long as we understand each other. I'll expect your answer tomorrow. You may go, Skylark.”
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Even though he'd tried his best, Sky could not help but feel as low, as Damian Stockholm had meant to bring him. The way the man constantly made fun of his name by saying it as if it was some sort of stupid disease, or how he made fun of his caste and background, was not what fazed him. It was rather the man's presence and demeanor, and the simple way that he loved to play with people's lives, like they were pawns in a chess game.
He walked back home that night a little slower than usual, the weight of this new forced decision weighing heavy on his heart. He didn't know how he was going to tell Aya…
But as he walked down those dark, empty, dirty, inner LA streets. He slowed as the sounds of fists hitting flesh came to his ear, as well as the sound of young pleas of mercy. He sighed as he subtly approached the next alley. Oh I am sonot in the mood for this today…
A young injured voice came through the sounds of the fight, “Look, I'll do better next time, I promise! I'm sorry! Please!”
Another gruff voice answered, right before the sound of another punch. “The boss says to make sure you remember what will happen if you fail him again. So here we are.”
As Sky approached, he looked around the corner of the building to see the scene for himself.
Two burly men, one Hispanic, one white, were leaning over a young white teenager. The boy was blond, grimy, and bloody, looking only to be about 16 or 17. He laid there, the fear of his life in his eyes, as the men kept hitting him with heavy fists and kicking him with their feet.
He walked up behind one of them and tapped him on the shoulder. As the man turned around, he hit him with a strong straight punch to the face, and simultaneously kicking the man's legs out from under him, causing him to crash to the ground, his head slamming hard on the concrete.
The thug was down before he even knew that he'd been outmatched…
However, Sky didn't have the same element of surprise with the other guy. Leaving the surprised boy on the ground, he came running over, fists swinging.
Sky sighed, all bullies were the same: small brains and amateur moves, that were only good for beating on those who were weaker than them.
Aiming a straight kick to the man's stomach, he knocked the air out of his body, sending him reeling. As the guy staggered back, Sky sent a roundhouse kick to the man's head, throwing him straight into the side of the brick building, and crashing to the ground!
Seeing that both foes were out of commission, Sky turned to the teen who sat stunned on the ground. Crouching to his knees, he smiled lightly and held out a supporting hand. “You okay?”
The boy looked up at him, his brown eyes glassy under his dirty blond hair. (dirty in more ways than one)“T-Thank you, mister.”
He began examining the various scratches and bruises on the boy's face, wiping off any excess blood with his sleeve. “You'll be black and blue for a while and a little puffy, just put some antiseptic on these scraps. You're really not hurt that much, but the head always bleeds more profusely than most other parts of the body, so don't let that fool you. You're going to be okay.” He shifted the boy's hair from out of his face, watching the stunned look in the kid's eyes. “I'm Sky, Sky Karinkov.”
The boy's eyes panged with surprise, and he smiled back kind of crookedly. “Thank you. I'll never forget this. You saved my life.”
“It was a harsh punishment, did the actions warrant it?” Sky asked, his eyebrow lifted in question.
Getting up slowly, the teenager, tired but glad to be alive, slowly began to limp away. Turning he looked at him with mischievous eyes. “That depends on what side you're on, Sky.”
Sky stood up straight, and looked after the boy. “You gonna be okay, kid? I can treat you at my place if you want.”
The teen kept walking, and put his hand in the air in assurance. “I'll be okay, you already did more than anyone else would.”
Sky smiled and shook his head, before turning the opposite direction to continue on his way. “Okay, whatever.” Suddenly, he turned around and asked in question, “Hey, what's your name, kid?”
The kid turned and smiled. “Name's Delphi, Joaquin Delphi.”
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Skylark had scrounged up what little food he could find for dinner, which ended up being only half a can of mushroom soup, and half a slice of stale bread, when he heard Aya call out to him as she came in.
Time to face the music.
“Hey, darling! I'm in the kitchen.” He answered back.
The young petite woman, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. “Hello my Skylark, I'm so tired, yet so happy! I have something to tell you.”
He smiled and turned to face her, wrapping his own arms around her small waist. “And what would that be, my love?”
Aya looked up lovingly at his face, “Not now! I'll tell you after dinner. So…did you get to see Mr. Stockholm?”
She could see almost instantly that something was wrong. Her husband's face seemed to get darker and more solemn. “It didn't go well, huh?”
He shrugged and led her to the table where he had set out dinner. “I have something to tell you as well, darling. But let's eat first.”
Aya sat down and she could see the meager fare set out on the table. “This is all the food we have left, isn't it Sky?”
He smiled, “Don't worry about it, Aya. I'll think of something.”
She looked at him in understanding. “You're keeping something from me; I can always tell. Perhaps you should just tell me what's up, Skylark.”
He sighed, “I guess I could never keep anything from you, darling.”
He then proceeded to tell all that had gone on in Damian Stockholm's office that day, and about the impossible deal/ultimatum he offered.
Aya stood up as he finished and began to pace, turning to him she said in urgency. “I know you're thinking of running Skylark, but we can't.”
He jumped up, “But Aya—!”
“Listen, Skylark! You don't know Stockholm! If we try to run, he'll find us! And what about TÅya?”
Anger sparked in his voice, “What about him, Aya? He has his life, we have ours. You can't keep looking after him! We stepped in for him once, and look where that got us? And the thing is…he doesn't even care about us! He's going to have to start looking out for himself, Aya.”
She turned at him with tears, pounding on his chest heatedly. “You don't understand at all, Sky! You can't understand the link we have. I could never abandon him! He's just going through this differently than we are! I'm sure he has his reasons, and that he's doing what he can. And even then, Damian will still come after us, and I can't stand to see you beaten or tortured—or worse! I love you too much…and I'm willing to become Damian's slave if it means saving your life!”
He held her fists in his hands to stop her, “I'm willing to take that risk, Aya!”
She twisted her hands away and wrapped herself around him, in a stalwart embrace. “But our baby is not!”
His heart stopped as all the time around him seemed to stand still as he heard those words. “W-What did you say?”
She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. “We…We're going to have a baby, Skylark. That's what I was going to tell you after dinner. You remember how tired I've been and how much I've been eating. Well, I went to the doctor after work today and…I'm four months pregnant. And…and I don't want to be on the run with our baby put in danger!”
The shock still gripped his face, and his dark hair shielded his hooded eyes. “A-A baby…”
She smiled, “Yes, my love…a baby.”
He suddenly pulled her close and kissed her solidly with a passion! The two lovers stood in their intimate embrace, the angry and raging feelings leaving the both of them.
When he let go, he beamed brightly, and swirled her around in the air before putting her back down lightly on the ground. “This is most wonderful news I've had in a long time! This changes everything. You're going to need shelter and food and security, and that's all that matters right now. You were right, honey. Nothing matters as much as this child right now, and if that means I must be at the mercy of Damian's ridicule and cruel hand, then so be it.”
She kissed him again. “I know it will be hard darling, but it can't last forever. Now let's eat before the food gets even colder.”
As she sat down, she was surprised when Sky poured his bowl of soup into hers, and put his bread next to it. “What's this, hon?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “You need it more than I, and I've lived on nothing before. You need your strength. I'll get you more as soon as I can.
“But Skylark, I—”
He held up his hand in silence. “Don't `but, skylark' me. Eat it and don't get yourself excited.”
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The next day, Sky came to Damian with their answer, “We accept your offer, Mr. Stockholm.”
Damian smiled cruelly, he knew they would…they had no choice. “That's excellent, Skylark. I was hoping you'd make the right decision.”
Sky ground his teeth, trying to not let the man put a damper on his good mood. “…Under one condition.”
The man lifted his eyebrow at that. “You? Make conditions of me? Well…let's at least hear it.”
Skylark narrowed his eyes, “You let Aya have her regular 8-hour work day…and I'll pick up the slack.”
Damian looked at him in surprise. “You're telling me you'd be willing to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? That's ludicrous, you'd die from exhaustion.”
“Nonetheless, I will not allow my wife to work for 16 hours a day. That's my final offer to you.”
Stockholm shook his head, “I'll make you a deal. Aya works for only 12.”
“Eight, and that's nonnegotiable.”
Damian shook his head. You had to admire the guy's bravery. He must really love his wife…well, I don't want him to fall out on the job, what fun would that be? “Alright, 8 hours a day, but you work for 22. Two hours of sleep enough for you?”
Sky closed his eyes in finality, “Agreed.”
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Before I knew what was going on, my life was whisked away from me at breakneck speed. Aya and I moved into Stockholm's mansion in the attic. It was small and chilly, and the food he gave us left much to be desired. Yet, we made the best of it.
I became Damian's personal valet, butler, manservant, bondsman—any of those words could have fit me. I did whatever Damian told me to do, from polishing his silver and serving his guests, to cleaning his floors and straightening the rooms of his mansion.
Aya stayed as his secretary, and we often got to see one another. She however, didn't enjoy seeing me degraded by Damian, or working myself so hard. She often threatened to ask our boss if she could have some of my hours, but I wouldn't allow it. We had the baby to think about, and she couldn't jeopardize her health. I could stretch myself day after day, and even serve that worm Damian, if it meant the life of my wife and child.
However, one day I was cleaning the windows on the east side of the mansion, when someone in a rush bumped into me. We looked at each other, and I realized that the man looked kind of familiar…TÅya!
My young brother-in-law was in shock when he saw me, and suddenly hugged me with fervor.
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“Oh Sky! Where have you been? Where's Aya? Is she okay? I was worried when I came to the apartment and they said you guys had moved out. I thought something—wait a minute, what are you doing here Skylark? And why are you washing the windows?”
Shrugging the man's hands away, Sky glared at him with venomous eyes. “Well, I thought you'd figure it out eventually. We live here now. Leave me alone TÅya, can't you see I'm working.”
The redhead held a slight stung look in his eye that only lasted a moment. “Why?”
The man tossed the rag on the floor in irritation. “You should know hotshot! You're the reason we're in the mess! For your information, we couldn't pay our debt for helping you, so now—we're working it off…working for Damian, with no pay, for six years…day in, day out. I don't particularly care about myself, but Aya…Aya's pregnant, TÅya.”
The look on the teen's face could have etched in stone. “P-Pregnant? Wha—When?”
Sky turned to him tired and exasperated, “If you'd been home, you might have known that. But I guess you were out there making trouble with your little “friends” right? By the way, what are you doing here yourself, TÅya?”
Seika's shocked face became vague again and he went back into his impassive persona. “Don't worry about me, I just have some business to take care of…some that just got a little more complicated. Listen, I have to go, take care of yourself Sky…and take care of Aya.”
Leaning over, he whispered further into his ear. “Be strong Sky. I know you hate me right now, and you don't have to believe me, but I'm going to help you and Aya. Things are never what they seem, and you see without seeing. Know that who you think is the darkest of demons, may actually be an angel in disguise…”
With that, TÅya patted him on the back firmly, then slipped away down the hall without another word. Sky was mystified by his words, and later talked to his wife about it. Though surprised and happy to hear from her twin brother, she too had no idea what his strange words meant.
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The weeks went by without seeing my brother-in-law again. It wasn't until a month later, in June, when I heard TÅya's name spoken again. Damian was enjoying putting me to work as usual. This time making me iron his entire wardrobe piece by piece with starch and scents, and Damian Stockholm was a “clothes horse” to say the least. So I sat in his gigantic walk-in closet ironing shirt #1,245, and no I'm not exaggerating the number, I had to also count and label each one, so I kind of know what I'm talking about.
But anyway, Stockholm must have forgotten, because I heard him enter the room with two other gentlemen talking in obviously secretive voices. The door to the closet had been mostly closed to allow for me to get to the pants hung up above the door, so it must have appeared as if I left, for Damian didn't even bother to check after he closed and locked the main doors.
Not wanting him to know of my presence, I stopped ironing, and instead took a little breather and sat on the floor as I waited for him to get on with business. It was impossible not to eavesdrop, even if I didn't want to, so I listened in.
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“How's the shipment going?” Damian asked.
“Fine boss…except for one thing.” answered one.
“Yes sir, it's just that there's no one to deliver them.” said the other.
“What do you mean, it's only a couple little boys and a few women. The Fallen Angels should be able to take care of that. That's what I own the little teenage bastards for. What's wrong?”
The first guy answered a little anxiously, “Well…they—um, they refuse, sir.”
Damian sounded as if he was about to explode, “Refused?! Who do those little strays think they are?!”
“T-T-They said t-that they aren't taking anymore orders from you…sir.”
“Which one? Who started this little revolt, huh? No, no don't tell me. It was Seika wasn't it?”
Everything that had been said before had been soft blows to me, but that one blew me away. Seika? Was he talking about TÅya?
One of the two men obviously nodded in affirmation, because Damian exploded again. “I KNEW that little red devil was going to be trouble! Has been since the beginning! Always questioning orders, and being independent! If he hadn't been the one keeping the team working smoothly, I would have rubbed him out a long time ago. But that's it. He's gone to far, organizing them to be openly defiant to me. It's time to make an example of him.”
“You want me to order a hit, sir?” One said as he seemed to be getting up from a chair.
“Yes, but this one's going to be personal.”
The other one also stood up. “Tell us where and when boss, and we'll be ready.”
Damian gave them an address not that far away, but across the line into the bad part of town. “We'll do it late tonight, and be clear that our target's name is: TÅya Seika.”
The entire conversation was a big jumble in Sky's head as the three men left the room—and him—in silence. He didn't have time to process all the information right now though, right now, all he knew was that TÅya was in trouble. And no matter his feelings, he was still family…
Making sure there was no one around, Sky slipped out of the closet and went in search of his wife. Upon finding her, he relayed all that he'd heard Damian and his goons say.
Though she also could not make heads or tails of it, she also felt that her brother was in danger.
“We have to find him right away, Sky. TÅya's in trouble again, and this time I'm going to make sure Damian doesn't get his hands on him. Sara, the maid from down the hall will let us borrow her car. I'll go ask her now.”
But as she headed away, her husband grabbed her arm before she got any farther. “Wait a minute, darling. You should stay here. You can't risk any excitement or complications. I'll go and see what this is about. I don't want anything to happen to Celesta.”
She pulled away and wrinkled her nose at him. “Celesta? You've already decided the baby's a girl? You're the first father I know, whose hoping for a girl.”
He smiled and shrugged, “I like girls; they're so much more challenging than boys.”
Aya reached up and kissed his cheek. “I think it's going to be a boy, hon. And I want to name him…Ayden.”
“Ayden…why?”
“Because…he's the result of the `fire' that exists between me and you.”
Sky smiled warmly and planted a kiss on her forehead, “We'll talk more about it when I get back.”
She stopped him with a stiff, non-yielding grip. “I didn't say I wasn't going. He's my brother, and he understands me more than you. I need to go.”
“But Aya…”
“I'm going, Skylark, and that's it. I'll be fine. I mean, I'm not due for another 3 months or so. What's the worse that could happen?”
He could have given her an entire list, but he knew that even that wouldn't convince her to stay. Instead the two had soon snuck away from the Stockholm mansion in search of their missing blood relation.

It had taken them a half an hour in order to find the address Sky had overheard Damian say, and it took them to a decrepit part of town where the street was more like an alley and very few people seemed to be milling about.
There was no sign of TÅya anywhere, so they parked for a while worrying if they had made it in time. They waited for what seemed like the better part of an hour, and Sky was about to suggest they go to look around the neighborhood, when—low and behold! Who other than TÅya, came strolling around the corner!
Skylark got out of the car, soon followed by Aya. “TÅya!”
The young Asian-American turned at the sound of his name, and a look of shock came to his face as saw his only kin in the world jogging toward him.
Aya quickly put her arms around her twin in happiness. “Oh, brother, I thought something happened to you.”
As he held her in an embrace, he looked over at Sky in question, “What are you two doing here? Aya—you shouldn't be out here in your condition.”
She looked up at him tearfully, “It's you I'm worried about. TÅya what's going on? Why is Damian after you?”
TÅya looked flustered at first, and then quickly tried to compose himself. “W-What? What are you—?”
Sky pulled Aya away and pushed her firmly behind him. “Look TÅya, don't give us any crap, alright? What are you and the Fallen Angels really doing? And does it have something to do with human trafficking?”
Aya gasped at her husband's deduction, but as she began to think about the words Damian said, as well as her own experiences with his books, she could tell he was too far from the truth.
Her brother's green eyes opened wide with shock, which later turned to a look of shame. He turned away unable to face his brother-in-law, his voice low and poignant. “You don't know what you're getting into, Sky.”
Karinkov turned him back around, his ultra-blue eyes flashing in anger. “Well, it's about time I did know! I've been in it from the start, and I'm tired about being left out in the dark!”
“Sky, there's been many things that I wished I could tell you in the past, but couldn't… Now however, ask anything…it doesn't really matter anymore.” He answered back resignedly.
Kind of surprised by the extent of his maturity, Sky couldn't help feel as if his eyes were being opened to see a TÅya who'd been there all the time, but he'd never seen. “TÅya, you—you've been working for Damian all this time haven't you? You and the Fallen Angels, have all been under his thumb since the beginning, haven't you?”
After a few seconds, TÅya nodded in silent affirmation.
Sky swore under his breath, his mind trying piece by piece to conquer all the implications of this new information. “He's been blackmailing you too, hasn't he? That's why you never told us anything, and actually tried to drive us away.”
“Well, I've been the only man ever able to organize and lead the Fallen Angels to their peak of efficiency. He couldn't afford to lose me.” TÅya looked at the sky in exasperation. “Sky…you don't know what a group the FAs were. They were only a group of misbegotten teenagers without futures, who society had turned their backs on. Each one milling around doing nothing, and fights breaking out between members, everything was in utter anarchy. I came along and I found out about each member's special talents, some who couldn't fight could do computers well, while others who weren't exactly strong mentally, knew every in and out of a .55 mm. I knew how to organize them, and encouraged their individual talents. I tried to help and be friendly to them, rather then think myself above them. Soon they came to me for guidance and help, both professionally and personally; they looked to me as their impromptu leader, and soon became more loyal to me than to Damian, who treated them like trash. And Damian was glad that we had become efficient. It increased his profits 5 times over. However, the more you and Aya pressed on me to leave the gang life, the more I started to think out what I was doing. Every night, I could see the faces of those young men and women, and even little children, who we carried across the border, hopeful for a new liberty, only to be sent to a life of bondage. My conscience began to get to me, and I began questioning Damian's orders a little too much. Damian threatened and argued with me many times, and began blackmailing me. I tried to do what the guy said and ignore my conscience, but I just couldn't keep closing my eyes to it. Especially, when I found out that he was also blackmailing the two of you, and then later, when he made you two work for him! I then suddenly remembered about this tattoo on my arm meant. Do you remember, Sky?”
Sky thought back to when he and TÅya first met. It had been a lovely summer day, and the two had playfully gotten off to a good start. He had noticed the interesting tattoo on the teen's arm and asked him about it. TÅya answered, `It's my own design, a pair of full ivory wings, with golden halo surrounding a dagger in the center. It reminds me that angels are not just pretty but their dangerous, and that they'll do whatever's necessary to protect those they're charged guardianship, and they do what's right no matter what happens. I hope one day I can be like an angel, and I have this as a reminder in case I take my mind off the goal.'
He nodded back, “Yes, I remember.”
TÅya put a hand on the man's shoulder, “Well, it did help me to remember. And I finally decided that enough was enough and that it was time the Fallen Angels got from under the heel of Damian Stockholm.”
Digging into his jean pocket, he pulled out a small leather-bound book. Tossing it over to Sky he commented, “That's my journal. In it, I've outlined all my plans for the Angels and even for you and Aya. We're ready to execute them very soon, just some last minute tweaking to do.”
Sky was speechless, not only because of how amazed he was, at how wrong he had been about TÅya, but there was also something wrong in the air… He noticed that time had passed quickly while they had been talking, and the dark of night was already upon them. They were now only illuminated by the orange glow of the street lights, and as he looked to his watch, he found that it was already after 8pm that night. He suddenly remembered why he had come to find TÅya in the first place! “We came for a reason, TÅya. I overheard Damian talking about you, and I think he's going to try something to teach you a lesson!”
The man shook his head, his green eyes sparkling with consideration. “I knew that he'd come after me, the moment I decided to separate the Angels away from him. The rest of us also know this, and are willing to take our chances. We're finished with having our lives, and those of the ones we love, threatened by the likes of Damian. If you knew the Angels like I do Sky, you'd understand. The only reason they got into the gang was because Damian's thugs kept pushing, and there was nothing else to do since they are all either runaways or orphans. I know you understand that type of life, since you were once a forgotten runaway yourself.”
He nodded solemnly, remembering those forlorn days long ago. He remembered being cold, homeless, and hungry, but unwavering in the fact that he would never go back to his old life. He'd been cold and hungry under his cruel uncle's rule, so there was not much difference. To this day, he never regretted his decision. In fact, if he hadn't runaway, he'd never have met the love of his life…
He sighed and looked at his brother-in-law through new eyes. “TÅya…I-I can't believe how wrong I was about you. Everything just pointed too…well, can you forgive me?”
The young man grinned and punched him playfully in the arm. “I can understand. You've been having a hell of a time yourself, and I'm sure from the haggard look on your face, that you need a good night's sleep. So, I think there's no need to apologize, just make sure that you take care of my twin there, and my little niece or nephew on the way.
Sky's mouth turned up slightly, glad that things had been patched up between the two of them. He looked over at his wife, who stood in bewilderment.
Aya looked at the two men, unable to catch on. “Wait, I don't understand. How could Damian Stockholm be connected with TÅya's gang? That gang set him up and Damian used his connections to get him out of jail. How could he be connected—”
Suddenly, her husband held up his hand in silence. Everyone stood in silence, the sounds of crickets coming through the night air. Aya and TÅya looked at each other in wait, when Sky asked, “TÅya, do you feel that?”
The redhead smiled knowingly, “I was wondering if I was the only one who noticed.”
Aya pushed her blond hair behind her ear and reached out to touch her brother's arm. “What is it? What do you feel?”
“Something's wrong.” He responded.
“Wrong?”
Sky felt his guard go up gradually, as it had been doing ever since he had started getting the dire feeling weighing down on his chest. “Can you hear it, darling?”
She stopped to listen, but found that as hard as she tried, she couldn't hear whatever it was that the two men could. “No, I can't. I don't hear anything.”
He looked at her consciously, and moved to her right, slightly in front of her so as to shield her. “It's the silence that's bothering me, hon.”
TÅya slipped to her right flank, taking the opposite position. “It's too quiet, Aya. No noise would be normal for the quiet countryside, but for the gritty streets of LA? No way.”
She saw that the men had situated themselves in order to protect her, and on instinct she put her hands defensively to her stomach, her maturing motherly instincts kicking in. “But what could—”
Before she could even finish, the screech of a car's wheels revving their way down the pavement, interrupted her. Followed by the sudden bright illumination of full headlights, bearing down on them at breakneck speed!
Sky heard the shots first, even before he saw the car from the corner of his eye, and unconsciously, he slipped TÅya's journal in his pants pocket. It took him only a minute to realize why the silence had felt so uneasy before—there was no one within sight! The people in the area had cleared out…they knew something was going down.
Well, that's how hits usually went down. Everybody knew about it, except, the person who was going to get iced…
When the first shots rang out, TÅya instantly went into action. “Get down, Sky! Aya!”
The redhead shoved his stunned brother-in-law violently to the ground—but not before a bullet tore through Skylark's left side, sending fiery agony through the man's body as he landed hard on the pavement.
TÅya didn't have time to stop and take a look, as in the same movement as his shoving of Sky, he also tackled his sister's petite form like a football, forcing her to the ground, and using his body as a shield over her. A single shot punctured his right leg, sending blood spraying everywhere, and him shouting out in pain.
“TÅya! Are you okay?!” his sister cried out, trying to twist about to see what the trouble was.
He pushed her head back down. “Stay down, Aya!”
Suddenly, things went silent again. The car stopped, and the door opened.
Sky was in too much pain to try to look to see who it was, even when he could hear footsteps approach them. Then, suddenly a voice spoke, chilling the very blood in his veins.
“Well, well, well…if it isn't Skylark? Aren't you supposed to be cleaning my dishes, and polishing my shoes?”
The raven-haired Russian-American snarled up at his “boss”, as Damian stood over him, in one of his rich Armani suits. “Screw you, ya son-of-a-bi—Ahhh!”
He yelled out in pain as Stockholm viciously kicked him in his gunshot wound, and sending him sliding a foot across the pavement.
“I don't have time to deal with you, Skylark. At least not yet…” He said before as he turned his back away from Karinkov, and instead turned to the two young fraternal twins his hefty henchmen had pulled up from the ground. He watched as one held the strangely unhurt Aya, and the other made TÅya kneel on the ground, even stripping him of his shirt and jacket, and then tying the redhead's wrists with rope. Nodding, he reached into his pocket…
Sky watched from his position on the ground, getting a sick feeling as he watched two goons who had gotten out with Stockholm, start hassling TÅya. Then he saw him pull the gun out his pocket…
“No! You can't do it!” Despite his pain, Sky picked himself up and launched himself at Damian.
But before he could even get an inch further, he felt a hard thud whack him in the head, and a white light briefly flashed before his vision, followed by the painful thud as he hit the ground once again, face first.
The businessman turned to his fallen, injured servant, and gave a slight nod to the muscled man that stood above Sky. “I always have my back watched, Skylark. And I can always do whatever I want.”
Sky briefly figured out that there must have been another goon watching him, and he had completely bludgeoned him to the ground. It hurt a lot, but…TÅya, Aya…they were in danger. He had to protect them.
He tried to get up once again, but this time, a heavy Timberland boot pushed him back down.
“Make sure he stays down this time, Rocko.” Damian said with a smirk as he watched his man push the Russian's face into the dirt.
The thug named Rocko nodded, and grinning a dirty smile, knowing what his boss wanted.
Sky barely heard the exchange as he struggled to move under the pressure of Rocko's foot. He reached his arm out to try to get some purchase, when suddenly a hard pressure hit his shoulder…
Looking down in the shock of the moment, he looked down at the ground and was surprised to see a dark liquid run from under him, and down the uneven street. When the liquid finally reached the light of the street lamp, and he could see the color, he realized what it was, at the same time that his body realized that its confines had been breeched…
“AHHHHHH!!OH GOD!! You Cossack!!”
Aya, turned at the sound of her husband's angry, anguished cries. She saw the thug, Rocko smiling with his foot on Sky's back, and……his hand on the handle of a knife skewered through her love's shoulder, pinning him to the ground!
“Sky!!” She tried to wrench away from the man holding her, but it was like a fly trying to get away from a spider web. She turned to her now former boss with her eyes filling with angry tears. “Why?! Why did you do that?! Why are you doing this to my family?”
Damian walked up to her and held her chin affectionately in his hand. “Well, I told him to stay in his place, it's not like I didn't warn him. And your brother…well, he just doesn't know how to play by the rules.”
She yanked her head away, “You piece of crap…I'll get you for this.”
He laughed at her anger, ruffling her hair. “You're so cute, when you play like you're angry. I love it!”
He then turned away from her and towards TÅya, who was forced to kneel in the desolate street while blood was seeping out from his right calve. “But business comes first…So, TÅya, I had not intended for your family to be here too, but I guess the more the merrier, huh?”
When the man didn't answer, Damian smirked. “Sleep or something? Well, maybe this will wake you up.”
Swinging his fist hard, he hit Seika in the jaw, knocking him to the ground!
Shaking out his fist, he watched with pleasure the look of horror on Aya's face. “Pull him back up, Robbie. I don't want him, falling asleep on the ground, either.”
The brawny man who'd been restraining TÅya, grinned and pulled hard on the rope, which jerked the young man violently back into position…like a dog on a chain.
Damian pulled up the boy's head by his hair. “You awake now?”
TÅya looked up at the multi-billionaire with angry disdain, blood running from his broken nose. “Shut up. I have nothing to say to you.”
“Well you have quite a bit of lip for someone in your position. Yet—that always was your problem wasn't it? You just couldn't keep your big mouth closed.”
“Let Aya and Sky go. They have nothing to do with this, Damian.”
Aya tried to pull away even though she knew it was useless. “No, TÅya! Damian, he's only nineteen!”
The man turned and looked at her, “They would be fine, if you had just continued to do what you were supposed to do, TÅya.”
The teen looked up at him angrily. You mean kill, buy, and sell people for you?! You got to be flaming kidding me! And then after what you did to my sister and Sky? You can go to hell.”
BANG!
Sky looked up in terror as he heard the shot ring out. Aya looked as if she was in shock and about to faint. Looking over to where his brother-in-law had been, he could see that he had again fallen to the ground. Was he…? No, thank goodness! He could see his side still rinsing and falling in succession! TÅya…
Damian held the Glock semi-automatic up, smoke still coming from the barrel. “Pick him up.”
TÅya felt himself get yanked back up from the ground, on which he had fallen again. Gasping, and trying to resist the pain, he could feel the bullet resting in his right shoulder blade.
Stockholm looked down at the teenager kneeling before him, blood running down his arm and shoulder. “Would you like to rephrase that, TÅya? I mean…did you actually think that you could undermine me? Who do you think you are? Cause you're a plain fool, if you thought you could cross me and live.”
TÅya took in ragged breaths, looking up at his former boss with disdain. “I didn't have to undermine you—you did that yourself. How long did you think we would sit ideally by while you blackmailed us and our families? The rest of the Angels are just as tired as I am, all they need was somebody to lead them and give them the courage to refuse to give in to you. No…you're the fool, Damian, not me.”
Shaking his head in amusement, Stockholm looked at him in ruthless humor. “Oh, don't worry. I'll take care of them soon enough. But I think I'll handle…”
BANG!
“…the root of the problem first.”
TÅya didn't drop this time—almost…as he felt the bullet plunge into his left shoulder and red droplets spurting across his face. Panting sharply, he struggled to face the searing throbbing, crying out slightly when he found he couldn't handle it. He struggled to answer, “I've become…more than just a little problem haven't I. You're afraid…that I'll set an example.”
His shooter looked at him in annoyance. “You callow, green-faced, little piece of foreign trash. You'd be nothing without me. You and your little family would be in jail, or sent back to wherever it is you came from!”
TÅya grinned weakly, sweat coming down his face. “Y-You mean like…what you told Aya and Sky?”
His sister came out of her stupor, tears falling down her face. “What's he talking about Damian?
Sky's brain automatically took TÅya's statement and added it up with all the others strange things that had been going on. His brother's strange behavior, his peculiar statements, the looks on his face, and it all added up now. He faced his wife, looking so thoroughly pissed off, that the man holding her had to take a step back…
“I think I can explain it for you. Damian is the one who started the Fallen Angels, in order to help with his human trafficking business. When TÅya came in and began to organize things, he more than quadrupled Damian's profits. He couldn't afford to let TÅya go, so when your brother started asking questions, he punished him by framing him for a crime of which he was innocent. That's when we came along, and Damian found a way to get even more money by blackmailing us. However, behind our backs, he was blackmailing TÅya as well, probably threatening to kill us he didn't agree to his terms. He had the cops, who were probably in his pocket, to let TÅya go and drop the charges. It was only after the point that Damian had milked us for all we had and put us into his servitude, that TÅya felt that enough was enough.”
Aya looked at her injured brother in disbelief. “I-Is is this true?”
He nodded back tiredly, his voice a little strained. “I shouldn't have let it get this far, I'm sorry Sis. I didn't want to risk your life, but after all that happened…I should have told you sooner. Before…before everything turned out like this.”
Skylark swore like a drunken sailor, “Damian, when I get my hands on you…Do you know what you put me through?! And for what? Money!?”
BANG!
Everyone jumped at the sound of the sudden of the gun's discharge. Unprepared, TÅya cried out stridently as another hot bullet, plunged into his left thigh, scattering flesh, blood, and bone alike.
“TÅya!” Aya called out in anguish, as she watched her twin's pain.
“Yes, it was for money!” Damian answered irritated, waving the slight smoke away from the gun's barrel. “Money gives you power, money makes you stronger, money—is what makes me better than you and your little family. Your kind will always be under my heels no matter how much you writhe and struggle. You run to the government for help, but we all know who really runs things around here. You work, I get paid, and if you do what you're supposed to do, maybe I'll let you live a tolerable life, if I'm in a good mood. It's the natural order of things; everyone else seems to understand that. However, there are always little upstarts like you and TÅya, who need to be put back in your place.”
The sound of soft laughter interrupted the uneasy silence that followed the man's statement. TÅya looked up at his former boss with eyes filled both with humor and sympathy. “Is…that…what you think? Y-You're worse off…than I…thought. I can see it…in your eyes. You were poor once…and had to…claw your way to the top. And you now look down…on anyone you think is too lazy to do…what you did. You were…hurt…so you like to hurt others. It makes you forget…like a drug, or alcohol. You are…addicted to it.”
Damian looked down at him angrily, his voice low and dangerous. “How dare you…”
But the boy didn't seem to care anymore that he was staring down the barrel of a firearm. “Yes…I dare. My team is willing to dare…Sky…and Aya too. We're not afraid of you…anymore, because we see you…for what…you really are—AHHH!”
BANG!
This time the bullet was aimed for his right thigh, seeming like a metal, hot stone dashing through his skin and sending up his warm life's blood slashing up like a pool of water.
Sky watched in horror and even if he tried to move, a lance of horrible torment would overtake his body, but he felt frozen, not able to call out, not able to take in the scene before him. Aya pulled and struggled to go to her brother's side, her screams stuck in her throat and a river of hot tears running down her face. Damian, stood there with an angry sneer on his face, holding a firearm to his brother-in-law's head. TÅya, barely able to keep upright as he was kneeling in a slowly forming puddle beneath him, blood and sweat streaming down his face and body, his breathing becoming labored and a struggle. How had things turned so wrong?
The young nineteen year-old Japanese-American, gasped and balled up his fists in an effort to resist the fire coursing over his body. “W-What you really are…Damian…is a lonely boy…crying out…for attention with a spoilt…attitude and heart…rotten…to the core…wanting to be the center of the universe…because that's where…you deemed yourself…like a god among men…but you're nothing…but a crying child…who became a spoiled coward…”
It was now evident that TÅya had gotten under his former employer's skin. He was beginning to lose his carefully preserved cool.
“Shut up, you little bastard.” Stockholm said angrily, his voice shaking.
“Why?” TÅya rasped back. “Is…the words of a `piece of foreign trash'…getting to you?”
“Shut up!” he yelled out, the truth of the teen's words were indeed beginning to unnerve him. But of course, he would never let anyone know that. His resolve however, was short-lived when he saw the smug smile on TÅya's face.
“`Do as you're told.' I said.” Damian gritted his teeth ruthlessly.
BANG!
“`Stop asking questions.' I said.” He gripped the handle of the gun, his eyes without mercy.
BANG!
“`Get rid of your bloody conscience!' I said!” he felt his finger pull the trigger, without even having a conscience thought.
BANG! BANG!
“Couldn't you EVER just listen and do as I say?!”
Damian threw the now empty gun away, and it went skittering across the ground, just missing a collision course with Sky's skull.
TÅya had tried to get up the last few times, but he found that his strength was rapidly leaving him. The thug who had been holding him, had released his restraints either in a feeling of disgust or guilt, and so, the teen simply collapsed, onto the wet pool of his own blood, the hot liquid continuing to pour out of his body like water out a spout.
He had lost count of how many holes he had in him, or where they were. He no longer cared, in fact. He, like any good soldier, knew within him what the eventual outcome would be, and the only thing he could do, was to make sure his goals would be seen through, even though…it would probably be…the last thing he did…
His vision was becoming hazy, and the sound of Aya's screams were muffled in his ear. He lifted up his head as much as he could, red plasma spilling out the corner of his mouth in effort, as he called out to his twin. “Don't worry… sister…if I die…someone just like me…or possibly even stronger…will rise to take…my place.”
He looked particularly at his brother-in-law, straining to see him as plainly as possible. The man, who was more like his real older brother, than just a by-law relation, was pinned to the ground, his handsome features hardly marred by the distinct haggard, sleepless look that overtook him. He was in obvious pain caused by the dagger skewered through his right shoulder and the gunshot in his side, but his uncanny ultra-blue eyes were glassy and wide, looking straight at him with terror, alarm, and despair.
TÅya smiled, causing more blood to run from his mouth. “An angel…needs to go home…sometime…and when they do…they have to…make sure another angel…an avenging angel…can fly down from the sky…and take over…Может 08;µ ли вы мне обещан&# 208;¸Ðµ?”
Can you promise me?
Sky looked at him in silence, the horrible yet undeniable truth going through his head, and the realization of what TÅya was asking. He remembered when he had taught both Aya and TÅya his native homeland language. Aya couldn't get a solid handle on it, but TÅya took to it like a sponge. And it was obvious that the reference to sky, and the use of Russian, that the boy had particularly been trying to send some kind of secret message to him. He couldn't figure it out yet, but he said the only thing he could have ever said. “Я обещаю.& #8221;
I promise.
Damian looked from one to the other, not understanding the last bit, but not caring nonetheless. He had attempted to get his temper under control, and was beginning to get his snide demeanor back.“You look so weak and pathetic, TÅya. Maybe I should let you live—live out the rest of your life in fear and hiding. What do you say, Seika? Are you going to beg me for your life?”
TÅya looked back at him, a cool grin on his face. If there was ever a time he wasn't afraid, it was now. “You have…no control over my life. I…knew what I was…doing the moment… I told your messengers `no'…I will always…remain a threat, and so…I know that…you will not…spare my life, even if…I was foolish and shallow… enough to stoop to begging…So why…would I even give you the satisfaction?”
That's it! I had it with this boy and his snippy comments and fresh retorts! Grabbing the Smith & Wesson from Robbie's holster, Damian, his temper beginning to flare again, quickly pulled the safety off the firearm and pointed it straight at TÅya's fallen body.
Aya pulled and jerked, kicking her restrainer unceasingly. “NO! TÅya!! Don't do it, Damian! You're killing him!!”
“My point exactly, my dear. He brought it on himself. Any last words TÅya, before I send a shot of metal straight into your brain?”
The teen could already feel his body's temperature steadily sinking. It wouldn't be too long now…
His vision was getting dim and hazy, but he nevertheless looked straight at the megalomaniac. His voice sounded tired and didn't break up like before, but was genuinely happy and witty, just as Aya remembered him when he was a child… “I would say, `See you in Hell'. But since we're not going to the same place, all I can say is: Have a nice trip down there, and bring plenty of ice cubes, because you'll be staying awhile.”
The gun shook in the man's hand, as his body was quivering with his increasing rage. “You little bastard…”
TÅya glanced over at his beloved sister, who was trying with all her might to be by his side, her teary eyes pleading with him to stay with her. He smiled tenderly, and shook his head. He instead whispered low to her, “Sayonara…onee-chan.”
Aya looked fearfully into her brother's emerald orbs, “Onii-chan…”
Contentedly, he beamed softly at her—when he suddenly felt another bullet burn through his body! He only winced a second before he could no longer feel it. He then felt another one, then another, then another…they each came in succession, but each felt fainter and fainter, until he could hardly feel their prick at all. He couldn't hear them, or anything for that matter! Nothing except the sound of his heartbeat reached his hearing, and even that was light and long-winded. TÅya just felt tired, and it had been a long time since he was able to just rest…
His eyes began to slowly flutter closed, shutting out all the shadows around him. Yes, all he wanted to do now, was rest…
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I laid there watching as Damian emptied the entire clip into my brother-in-law. I watched in silent horror, feeling completely useless and injured, my emotional mind frozen and my analytical mind couldn't help but count all the shots. Taking account of the very first bullet that hit him in the leg during the drive-by, TÅya was shot a total of 25 times…
I wonder to this day if I couldn't have done something, anything to save TÅya's life. However, I also know that TÅya knew his fate, and wasn't going to run from anymore. There had been nothing I could have done for him by that time anyway. He had lost too much blood already…
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“YOU BASTARD! YOU SICK, MURDEROUS BASTARD!!”
Aya screamed at the top of her lungs, she began to weep even more than before, like an uncontrollable current. Her stomach was doing wheelies, and it wasn't just the baby within her. “You killed him!! YOU KILLED HIM!!”
Coming out of his blinding, psychotic wrath, Damian could finally take into account what he had actually done. Looking down at the teenager's limp, bloodied body, he could see quite well that there was no way there was any life left in it.
A smile came upon his lips…
Stockholm suddenly was reminded of the others around him, by the rants of TÅya's only remaining blood kin. Seeing that his third man, Jack, was having quite a bad time trying to hold on to her, he nodded signaling that he could let go. He also looked at Rocko and signaled the same thing.
Aya felt herself finally being hurriedly released. Collapsing to ground, she breathed a small moan, out of the corner of her eye she could see the man, Rocko, painfully pulling the dagger out of Sky's shoulder, letting him go free.
Allowing herself a small breath of relief, she then slowly crawled to her twin's side. Ignoring everything else around her, she went to his bullet-riddled body, her small form completely surrounded by his own blood. Reaching over she pulled at his slippery cadaver with her porcelain hands, she laid his head on her lap and silently and sorrowfully wiped off his face, still handsome, peaceful, and content, but lifeless.
Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she looked up to see her husband's aqua-colored eyes looking back at her in both mourning and consoling. “There is nothing more you can do for him, my love. Nothing except live your life to the fullest, as he would have wanted you to.”
He offered her his hand, and pulled her into his arms. As she wept silently in his unwounded shoulder, she whispered. “I never thought it would end this way, Skylark. Why did he have to die like this? Why did he have to die?”
Damian cleared his throat, “Look, I don't have all night, and there is still the matter of you two to deal with. I can't have witnesses, on the off chance that you'd be stupid enough to press charges.”
Sky looked up at him, a dangerous glint in his eye as he protectively pressed Aya closed to his chest. “What do you mean, `if'? You just tortured and killed TÅya in cold blood…not to mention assaulting, blackmailing, and enslaving Aya and me. You best be glad that I'm holding my temper and repressing from taking your life myself.”
He shook his head in amusement. “You don't seem to get it. No one would believe you; it's my word against yours. Who is the jury going to believe? The respected president of a famous multi-billion dollar company, or a dropout immigrant teenager and his little Asian wife? I think you're way out of your league here Skylark, just like TÅya was.”
Karinkov gritted his teeth in anger, hearing the truth in his words. Even though what he just did to TÅya was deplorable, Damian would never be accused of it. Jurors and judges could easily be bought, and there was no way the guy would even let things get that far. He'd sooner kill the two of them, right here and now.
Sighing, he looked at Damian in infuriating aggravation. “What do you want us to do?”
Aya looked up at her husband in disbelief, but he quieted her with a silent hard look. She was grieving very hard, and her actions and thinking were irrational.
Damian smiled maliciously, “Well, I could have you go back and finish working of your debt for the remained of your 6 years…”
Sky's mouth slowly curved into an angry, curved, silent snarl.
“…but, after tonight, I think I can cut you some slack, and give you the option of leaving town tonight, and the two of us never seeing each other again”
He nodded, “We'll take it.”
“No, we won't.”
Sky looked down in surprise at his wife. What was she saying?
Pulling away from her husband, Aya marched right up to Damian, a deadly look on her face. When she came within his personal boundaries, she stared into his cold russet eyes.
“If you think, that your money, will keep me from avenging my brother's murder—then you're dead wrong. I don't care if it takes me a week, or a month, or years. I will make you pay for what you did to him, for what you did to Sky, and what you put our family through. I will kill you, you understand? Kill you!!”
The blond looked at her with a little surprise and amusement. “I've never seen you like this, Aya. It's invigorating…”
She glared back at him, “I wouldn't talk that way if I were you.”
Damian smiled and stepped even closer to her, so close they were practically touching. “How would you like me to talk to you? You know, it's a shame that you met the Russian before me. I haven't met a girl quite as beautiful as you. Your hair, the shape of your body, the curves in all the right places, the color of your eyes, your tiny cute mouth, man! You must enjoy her a lot, don't you Skylark?”
Totally enraged, Sky lunged at him, only to have Robbie hold him back. He struggled angrily, “Stay away from her, you murderer!”
Aya suddenly slapped Stockholm in the face, to the surprise of all present! Angrily, she said. “What makes you think I would have chosen you anyway? In fact you're the last man on earth I could ever choose to marry…bastard.”
Feeling the red mark on his cheek, he looked back at her with slight anger, but more intrigue. Suddenly, he backslapped her hard, almost knocking her to the ground! But her caught her by the hair, and lifted her back up, a large welt across her face.
“Aya!” Sky called out to her.
“It's okay Skylark. I was just teaching her to stay in a woman's place.” Damian taunted. Turning back to Aya, she looked back in anger. “Now, now, little one. You brought it on yourself. I understand you're still hurt by TÅya's death, but you'll get over it soon enough. Seriously, I'm really thinking about you and me. I could make you a very rich woman…”
She hissed in rage, “And I'll tell you where you can shove that money. Let go of me!”
He looked at her—and started laughing. “You make me laugh, Aya. You look so cute when you try to act tough.” Damian didn't let go of her hair though, but instead, pulled harder. He lowered his voice a little, a menacing tone to it. “But don't make me laugh so hard, that you begin to ache.”
Skylark pulled hard, but was unable to work at his top strength because of his injuries. “I swear Damian…if you hurt her, I will shove a knife through your chest myself!”
The man looked at him incredulously, “You're wasting your breath, Skylark. Anyone who's ever threatened me has either become a complete outcast hated by society, or in a concrete box at the bottom of the Pacific. I think you'd better hold your tongue, before you join the second group, rather than the first.”
“How about neither?” Aya interjected in rage.
He smiled tauntingly and ran his finger lightly from her nose down to her lips and kept descending. “That…can be arranged—for you.”
Feeling totally desecrated, Aya swung out with her fist in fury. However, this time, Damian caught her wrist before it could connect! “No time for games now, kitten. We can do that later… I can take you by my side, make sure you're well taken care of, and you'll never want for anything. I can give you more than the Russian can ever offer you. All you have to do, is say yes. This is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'm sure you'll make the right decision, of course.”
She looked up into his charming brown orbs looked with her sparkling emerald ones. “Well, when you put it that way…I think the best response is in the words of my dear brother. What did he say? I think it was something like: `You can go to hell'.”
Damian narrowed his eyes, a sense of wrath came to his features at first, but was almost instantly replaced by his simple “charming as a snake” looks once again. “So you'd rather stay with the Russian and remain loyal to your brother, than take the life I offer you?”
“I think you finally comprehend something, Damian. You can't take away what Sky and I have. I'm pregnant with his baby, and he'll be the legacy of our love forever!” She shot back.
Surprise came to his face, followed by him shaking his head in amusement and letting go of her, putting his hands in his pockets. “Well, this is goodbye for us then, I guess.”
He turned to Rocko, “Get the car started.”
The man nodded and went to do as told. Damian turned back to Aya, and stepped back up to her, taking her by the arms. “Congratulations, Aya. I guess this recent news seals our goodbye into a farewell. I'll miss you.”
“I won't.” She retorted with a sting. “Let go of me.”
He hunched his shoulders innocently, “Let me at least give you a kiss farewell.”
Aya felt him swing her into his one handed embrace, and then, without warning, he pressed his lips forcefully against hers! Disgusted, she tried to pull away. That's when she felt the pressure and sudden intense pain in her abdomen…
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Skylark went red with rage, as Damian forced Aya to kiss him. If he ever got free... That's when he noticed the change in his wife's face. Her eyes went wide with shock, and her body became shaky and shivering. What's wrong now?
 
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Damian let go of Aya, a cruel smirk on his lips. “I hope you know, that I'm one of those guys, that if I can't have you, no one else can…Farewell, Aya.”
She stepped back staggeringly, unable to speak. Looking down, her trembling hand touched the handle of the switchblade, protruding from her stomach. Pulling it out with a shriek, she fell to the ground, blood surging from the wound like running water!
Sky slowly, agonizingly put together what happened. Damian had the blade in his pocket and had taken it out hiding it in his hand when he embraced Aya. Then, while he held her with one hand and kissed her, he firmly stabbed her in the stomach with his hidden hand!
“AYA! Let me go! Aya!” Sky felt the panic come to his voice, he pulled and fought despite his injuries. Oh God, please not her!
Damian signaled for Robbie to release him, and watched as he scrambled to his wife's side, checking the wound, then tearing off the sleeve of his shirt and pressing it against her abdomen. It's a waste of time; she's losing too much to hold it off. She chose her fate, the minute she refused my hand. It's a shame, since she was really pretty too. Oh well…
Stepping to the waiting, running car, he entered and shut the door. Waving Robbie over, he said, “Let the lovebirds have their last moments together. Wait till she's dead, and then kill Skylark. Get rid of the bodies. You got all that?”
He nodded, “Yes, sir. Everything will be as you say sir.”
“It had better be.” Damian rolled up the window, and the car drove down the street and around the corner, leaving all the bloodshed behind it, without a second look back…
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Sky in desperation, kept pressing his hand against the wound to stop the flow; yet it only caused more blood to gush out, coating his hands and going onto his clothes. Tears dripped from his eyes as he tried exasperatingly to halt to bleeding in some way. Come on, stop. Stop already. Stop, darn it!
Aya gagged slightly in his arms, claret running from her mouth—a sign that she was starting to bleed internally…
Her hand shaking, and fatigue beginning to overtake her small form, she reached up to her husband's petrified face. Sky looked down at her as she tremblingly caressed his face and pushed his loose raven hair behind his ear. His nose runny and teardrops splattering on her forehead, his heart began to break as he saw the look of pure love and fulfillment on her lovely face. “Skylark…”
Taking her hand in his own, he squeezed it tight. His voice was hurried and cracked. “D-Don't worry, Aya. I'm going to take you to get you some help, ok? You'll be fine, ok? Stay with me, hon…j-just, stay with me.”
She shook her head, her mouth curling up adorably and her eyes becoming little slits. “I can always…tell when you're lying, you know? God, you're so handsome…even now. I need you to stay strong…my love. Don't let us go forgotten…don't let TÅya go unavenged…”
Sky felt his heart being torn in two, his whole boy becoming numb. Here his wife was in his arms, and he couldn't do a freakin' thing to help her! His baby was almost certainly already dead, traumatized and unable to breath, or probably damaged by the blade. Nevertheless, he wouldn't remind Aya of that, even though he knew that she most likely knew. “What are you talking about, darling? You're going…”
She put her trembling, lukewarm fingers to his lips, silencing him. He looked back into her loving eyes, tears streaming down his own. Pressing his eyes closed tightly, he clenched his teeth in provocation, thrusting his fist at the ground, unresponsive to the pain it caused. “Why? WHY! Why you? Why TÅya? What have we done to deserve this?!”
Aya lifted his face in the palm of her hand, she gasped slightly and found it hard to keep her eyelids up. “Darling, it is not for us…to ask…how or why. I would have loved to name the baby Ayden though…”
He cringed at that; it was conformation that she knew.
Yet, she went on talking, “TÅya still needs me, he'll never find his way around heaven…you know how he …has the worst sense of direction. He couldn't find his way to the library…and it was right behind our house. He would travel…for hours…to find that place. We were never far apart the two of us, and that seems to be true in both life…and death.”
Sky took her hand and clasped it desperately, “I still need you, Aya. Please…Please don't leave me!”
“You're strong, my Skylark…I remember when you changed your name…for me. You weren't afraid of the reactions you'd get, or anything like that, even when people made fun of it.”
He swirled her golden hair between his fingers. “I did it all because of you. I love you, Aya. I love you far more than myself…I would give up everything just to trade places with you right now…”
Clasping his hand back in response, she sighed in brief pain, closing her eyes. “No Sky…your path is different than mine. You have to…trust your heart… as I have all these years…trust it…to guide…you.”
“Do you have anything to say?” she whispered out softly.
Sighing with relief he smiled brightly, licking his lips and choking slightly on his tears. He shook his head, “What do you mean, my love?”
She looked up at him; her eyelids slightly open. “You…remember…our song…don't you? Sing it…with me…would you?”
He nodded reminiscing sanguinely, a soft smile on his face. His voice refusing to not choke up, he still tried to sing to the best of his ability…to sing for her.
“Skylark, have you anything to say to me?
Can you tell me where my love may be?
Is there a meadow in the mist
where he's just waiting to be kissed?
Aya's soft voice joined his, the two singing a duet of their love. The song that had been played at their wedding, and was a token of their deepest affection, that seemed as if it would transcend time and space…
Skylark, have you seen a valley green with spring
where my heart can go a journeying
over the shadows and the rain
to a blossom covered lane?
And in your lonely flight have you heard the music?
In the night, wonderful music.
Faint as a will-o'-the-wisp, crazy as a loon,
sad as a gypsy serenading the moon.
Oh, skylark, I don't know, I don't know
if you can find these things,
but my heart, my heart is riding on your wings.
So if you see them anywhere
won't you lead me there?
At this point, Sky couldn't go on any longer. He completely broke down. It couldn't sink in, that he was losing her forever!
Then he felt her cold hands weakly pull his face to meet hers. Aya lifted his mouth to her bloodstained lips, kissing him passionately. Drawing him closer, into her small, cold embrace, she slowly, but using the last of her strength, whispered the last lyric of the song into his ear.
“Oh, won't you lead me there?
Lead me there, lead me there.
Lead me there, skylark, skylark, skylark, there . . .”
As her voice began to trail off, her grip also became slack. Sky looked up at her face to see that not only had her eyes closed once again, but there something else had also changed—it had lost its rosy color…the color of life…
He looked over at her in dread, trying to shake her gently. “Aya? Aya?!”
She was unresponsive in his hands. Her body had gone limp, and her hands were now colder than ice.
Sky felt his body start to shiver, his heart refusing to believe what his head already had figured out…Aya Seika Karinkov…was dead.
Holding her body to him, he wept ceaselessly, uncaring. He rocked back and forth silently, numbness taking over him so completely, he couldn't feel anything…nothing but her…
He kissed her cheek lightly, answering her last words lightly. “I-I'll lead you there, my darling Aya. I'll lead you there…from now and forevermore.”
Robbie hated having clean up duty, but hey, the boss was the boss. If anything, tonight was an example of what happens, when you try to cross the boss.
He had waited as the boss had said, and he was pretty sure the girl was dead. Taking the safety off his gun, he sighed and aimed. After this, he would just leave their bodies; let the police look like they were doing something.
It was time to call it a night…
Sky didn't here the gun discharge, nor did he feel the bullets burn into his back. However, before he knew it, Aya had fallen out of his arms, and he had collapsed to the ground!
He lay there, unable to speak, his eyes getting dizzy, as his blood flowed out into the ground mixing with that of his family.
Some part of his brain, reminded him that he had lost a lot of blood himself. Was he going to die? Would fate finally do something rightfor once?
As he began to lose consciousness, he felt a small spark in his heart. He didn't know what it was, nor did he care. He just let the emptiness consume him…
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It wasn't till many hours later, where I would understand what that spark was—and how it would lead me for the rest of my life…
TO BE CONTINUED…