Chapter Fourteen, Blackout

I know, I know... I know! It's been months, I haven't updated anything, etc etc. I'm sorry! My laptop (containing all my stories) decided it didn't want to live anymore. It took months to get it repaired, literally months! I'm back now though and here's a short but sweet update to celebrate!

So, in this chapter, you find out who Jun's brother was. You also find out a little more about the mysterious 'Nastya' who has been weighing so heavily on Yassen's mind in recent times. Also, you get a brief snapshot of the tangled web of deceit Julian Schaeffer is beginning to weave for himself. Enjoy.

"What?" Alex demanded, eyeing Jun in bewilderment, "I did what?!"

"You heard me, you little monsuta," He snarled in reply, "You killed my brother!"

Alex found that for a long moment, he had nothing to say. He merely looked between Jun and Amil in utter bewilderment. Jun looked…Well, like Jun which meant vicious and mean. Amil looked bored, but Alex knew the giant African man would look bored even as he crushed his skull like an egg. That was just the sort of guy he was.

Eventually, once the silence had stretched to unpleasant lengths, Alex knew he had to say something to the two thugs before him.

"I don't even know who your brother was!" He protested, "How could I have killed him?!"

Amil muttered something quietly in an unknown language to Jun. The Japanese man paused, seemingly unhappy with whatever his friend had suggested to him. Amil sighed and looked Alex in the eye. Surprisingly, there was little actual hatred or hostility in the man's expression.

"Jun has picture of his brother in pocket." The man had a deep, rumbling voice of broken English. It made Alex think that this was how a rockslide must sound. "You see it, yes?"

"Okay." Alex nodded and before he could think too much about it, dug in Jun's pocket. He found a wallet and pulled that out, never taking the blade away from his captive's throat. "I'm looking now."

And there, in a foldout part of the leather wallet was the photo. Alex looked at it and suddenly realised what he'd gotten himself into.

"But…" Alex looked at Jun in confusion, "Your brother was Chinese?"

"No." Jun wasn't yelling or snarling anymore, but his quiet tone now held a different and more intimidating note of viciousness, "Only half. It was enough to get him into Big Circle."

Alex didn't reply immediately, looking once more at the photo in his hands. Then, something occurred to him.

"I didn't kill him!" He burst out, "I was told he survived being drowned with only a broken nose!"

Jun gave an impressive snort and glared at Alex with renewed hatred.

"Then you're stupid! You should have known there would be no tolerance for his failure once he reported back to his Enforcer!"

Alex returned the glare with one of his own, indignation making him argumentative.

"So you're saying I should have let him shoot me, so he didn't get in trouble with the bosses then?"

"His life was worth more then yours!"

Alex had heard enough. The fight had quickly reduced to a standoff and already even that was reaching a point of idiocy.

"Yeah, whatever." He rolled his eyes, drawing a furious hiss from Jun and a throaty growl from Amil, "You know what? I really don't give a shit. You can give me all the death threats you want, I don't care. You can stick them up your ar-"

"Alex?" As if by some divine intervention, Chris Drummond appeared at that moment. As soon as he the sight before him fully clicked within his keen mind, the expression of shock on his face was quickly replaced by anger. "Okay, who started this?"

As was to be expected perhaps, Amil and Jun pointed at Alex whilst he pointed at the other two. Chris looked tempted to grin for a split second. The mirth didn't last long however once the man noticed the knife.

"Alex, tell me what happened."

Alex glanced at Jun and Amil briefly.

"I ran into these two and they attacked me."

"Liar." Amil grunted, sounding surprisingly good humoured considering what had happened. "You threw first punch."

Chris raised a brow and glanced at Alex with suddenly narrowed eyes.

"Is that true?"

Alex bit his bottom lip and squirmed uncomfortably.

"Technically?" He asked, "Yes… But it was completely provoked! These two have attacked me before and even though I threw the first punch, they were hardly defenceless… Look!"

Not leaving Chris any time to protest, Alex threw the knife he'd been threatening Jun with to the ground and pulled his shirt up. There, across his torso, were the livid marks left by Jun kicking him. There was actually an imprint from the tread of Jun's boots on Alex's stomach. The entire mess ached horribly.

Chris looked furious now. He turned to survey Jun, who in turn merely laughed derisively.

"The brat is lying," The Japanese man said coldly, "We've never touched him before."

"That's not true!" Alex knew he was yelling, but he couldn't force his emotions and voice back under control, "Ask Yassen, he'll tell you!"

Chris's mouth formed a hard line across his face.

"I just went to see Yassen, he's unconscious. You'll need to calm down and explain things yourself."

Alex opened his mouth to argue, but quickly shut it at the warning in Chris' eyes.

"Okay." He said eventually, struggling to contain himself, "Fine."

"Good." Chris nodded approvingly, "Now, explain exactly what happened."

Alex didn't look at Jun, not trusting himself to keep his temper.

"I've gotten into a fight with Jun and Amil before. I ran into them again just now. I knew I couldn't win fighting fair, so I tricked Jun and punched him in the face before running. I wasn't fast enough though, I got caught and Jun kicked me. I managed to get free though and steal Amil's knife. I then grabbed Jun and ended up discovering that Jun's half Chinese brother was a triad member I tangled with last year."

"He got him killed!" Jun interjected suddenly, the hissing, catlike quality back in his voice, "Rider got my brother killed!"

Chris studied both Alex and Jun for a moment, shaking his head slowly in equal parts exasperation and deep thought. Eventually, his expression cleared and he turned to Jun.

"I know about your brother," He said sternly, "And it has to be said, if you join the Triads, you have to be able to accept the consequences for failure, just as you do if you join Scorpia. If your brother was able to do that, you should have been able to as well."

Jun looked wild, but obviously didn't dare go against Chris.

"So, here's what's going to happen: you and your walking brick wall here are going to keep your hands off Alex," Chris said firmly, eyeing Amil briefly before turning to Alex, "And you are going to stay the hell out of these two's way. Everyone clear?"

"Crystal." Alex grunted crankily, ignoring the prickling sensation of Jun glaring at him.

"And you two?" Chris raised a brow at Jun and Amil.

"Sure thing boss man." Amil shrugged, an action that imitated two boulders rolling down a hillside.

"Hai." Jun muttered sullenly.

"Excellent." Chris smiled humourlessly, "Now kids, I have to go talk to the head of Martial Arts Training. If you guys don't play nice, I'm going to want to know why."

Then, without another word, Chris strode off, leaving Jun, Amil and Alex alone once more.

"Don't think this is over." Jun snarled in the pregnant pause that followed Chris' departure, "We're still going to get you."

"Of course you are." Alex rolled his eyes, "I'd expect no less. Now, if you don't mind, I have places to be."

"Enjoy your freedom whilst you can Rider," Jun smiled nastily, "But I'd be looking over my shoulder if I were you."

"And if I were you," Alex replied, just as unpleasantly, "I'd finish me off properly next time because I tell you what; you come after me again and I'm gonna make what happened to your brother look like a walk in the park."

With that, he strode off. Before he turned around though, Alex swore he saw Amil grin.

'Strange, strange people…'

Yassen wondered the cold alley, scuffing his falling apart shoes on the rough broken concrete haphazardly. They icy winter air tore through his uncut hair and thin coat cruelly, but he ignored it, too absorbed by his aimless wonderings. He mindlessly kicked at a nearby pebble. It skittered away into the dark.

And then flew back through the air to hit Yassen in the chest.

"Watch it." Came a resentful voice.

The voice belonged to a small girl, sitting on a nearby porch, one of the few lit buildings in the area. Loud, drunken male voices and shriller female conversation could be heard filtering out from behind the girl.

"Sorry." Yassen stood awkwardly, surveying the girl. He'd never come into contact with anyone else during his nightly wonderings. "I didn't mean to."

The girl merely shrugged and Yassen studied her more closely.

Pale, sallow skin, almost lifeless looking except for a few blemishes hiding under a light coating of make-up. Shoulder length hair, dyed a strange reddish colour sat in natural waves around her face. Her face itself was not conventionally pretty, but Yassen was intrigued by the curve of her cheekbones and the slightly angular shape of her dark brown eyes.

"What are you looking at?" She asked sullenly, regarding Yassen with a mixture of annoyance and resignation. "I don't care what the sign says, I'm not for hire."

It was only then Yassen noticed the sign above the door the girl sat in front of.

Iolanta's: for the lonely male

"Oh." Yassen looked back at the girl. "A whore-house?"

The girl pouted and glared briefly before sighing and nodding.

"Sadly, yes… It's my home."

Yassen was unsure what the appropriate response to what a statement was, so he decided to pretend like this was perfectly normal.

"I'm Yassen." He said openly, offering his hand.

The girl surveyed his hand suspiciously for a moment, as if expecting it to grow fangs and bite. However, Yassen resolutely kept it extended and she shook it gingerly.

"I'm Nastya." She replied, "It's… It's nice to meet you Yassen. What are you doing out so late?"

Yassen shrugged.

"I don't sleep." He said, "Not very much anyway. So, I sneak out and walk around. Why are you out?"

"I'm only out on the doorstep." Nastya pointed out. "Besides, Iolanta invited all of her boyfriend's friends to spend the night over… There's no spare bedrooms, but plenty of noise. Understand me?"

Yassen winced and nodded.

"I guess that's not much fun." He offered.

Nastya shrugged, looking miserably sullen.

"You got that right." She muttered, "I can't wait until I have enough money to run away… I want to go to Moscow and become an actress."

Yassen thought about that for a moment. Estrov was a long way from Moscow, it seemed like another world almost.

"That'd be fun," He agreed, "But why don't you just ask your Mum to move away from this place now?"

"That's just it," Nastya shook her head; "I don't live with my Mum. All my family got killed. The girls who work here adopted me."

"You have no family at all?" Yassen repeated incredulously, "How the hell did that happen?"

Nastya frowned, only just beginning to realise that at thirteen years old, Yassen either hadn't developed any great amount of tact yet, or simply didn't display what little he had.

"My Mother and Father didn't agree with some of the government's policies. They protested. So, some secret police came and killed them. I ran away, so I survived."

"Oh." Yassen said, before realising he was supposed to offer something in return, "My Mother helps take care of our neighbours' babies and my Father works in the facility on the hill."

Nastya's eyes widened at that.

"They make weapons there!" She exclaimed, "Chemical ones I think… One of the girls used to work in the cleaning team there, but she got fired. She told me about it… Apparently the whole place is top-secret and under budgeted!"

Yassen's education may not have been particularly thorough (mostly due to his chronic habit of very rarely attending school), but his parents had taught him a lot about money and hard work, so he understood the implications of 'under budgeted'.

"My Dad said something like that my Mother," He replied, sitting next to Nastya on the porch, "He's had to do heaps of extra hours lately because there's not enough people with engineering and chemistry degrees to do the work."

Nastya looked even more disbelieving.

"Your Father has been to University?" She gaped, "And yet your family lives in a place like Estrov?"

"Yeah." Yassen sighed. As a small child, he's grown with nothing but innocent acceptance for his hometown. However, of late he'd grown restless and had started to feel a deep, churning resentment for the town he was trapped in. He especially hated the plant his Father worked in, the way it loomed over everything and seemed to suck so much life and happiness from his Father. "I want to go to Moscow too I guess. Otherwise, I'm scared I'll never leave this place."

The flashback of his first meeting with Nastya was almost more then Yassen could stand. Any memories of Nastya were painful, but this one in particular as it reminded Yassen of a time when he's had so much hope for the future and when he'd believed in things, not least of all himself.

'Now look at me.' Yassen thought bitterly as he stared at the roof blankly, 'I have no hope for myself, for the future… The best thing I've ever done is kept Alex alive and so far, I've only just managed that.'

As that thought occurred to him, Yassen felt the usual fierce resolution to do his best for Alex. To begin with, his interest in Alex had been purely a result of his grief for John Rider's death. However, after meeting Alex through the boy's missions and keeping tabs on him after that (not that Alex realised he'd been under Yassen's surveillance for close to a year now), Yassen had grown genuinely attached and protective of the boy. The thought of failing Alex was enough to make panic and despair close its ice-cold fist over Yassen's heart.

'Or what's left of it anyway,' Yassen thought in grim amusement as another savage wave of pain in his chest caused him to clench his teeth and restrain a groan, 'Which isn't much.'

The rest of his train of thought was disrupted as the urge to cough suddenly arose. Restraining himself from coughing was pure agony, almost as bad as the time Cray had shot him. However, Yassen knew he had to stop himself. It was entirely possible for one simple cough to cause even further damage; maybe even fracture another rib and chances were, if any further damage was done…

Yassen weakly swallowed and reluctantly thought about what the doctor had said.

The impact of the polymer round had broken his sixth rib. Originally, because his pain was so great, the medics had thought he may have suffered a hairline fracture along his seventh rib as well. However, this was later disproved through x-rays. To try and control the pain however, they'd switched from prescribing codeine to a larger dose of hydrocodone. The dosage they were prescribing was greater then strictly safe, but the pain and discomfort of the injury was forcing the doctor's to operate on the basis of 'if it doesn't kill him or damage his liver, its fine'.

However, this was little consolation. Due to his previous chest injury (once more, Yassen cursed Cray), his ribs were greatly weakened and this second injury had only increased the weakness. So, whilst at present his sixth rib was only broken in one place, any violent coughing or further impacts would most likely cause his sixth rib to shatter further along the bone, almost definitely sending bone shards into his lungs or other internal organs. Either that, or the pain would be so great and the free-floating segment of bone would be such an impediment to his breathing that Yassen would very likely go into shock or lose the ability to breathe on his own.

If that happened, his chances of survival were minimal, if at all existent.

Despite all this, the urge to cough was still present and greater then ever. Yassen grit his teeth and bore it the best he could, but as time went on, the pressure built up in his chest and the pain passed his ability to cope. Gasping for breath, he pressed the button next to his bed.

A nurse appeared almost immediately. Yassen faintly realised he was a priority patient as the woman rushed over.

"M-meds," He managed to rasp, fists clenching and unclenching as he struggled not to lose control and howl like some sort of animal, "Need to c-cough…"

The nurse nodded tersely and quickly produced a needle which she filled from a canister suspended from a hook near Yassen's bed. She checked there were no air bubbles present in the medicine before injecting the entire syringe into the deltoid muscles of Yassen shoulder.

"That'll kick in a few minutes," The nurse said, "You need to try and keep calm until then. Do you want me to call the Doctor?"

Yassen shook his head, grimacing. He was determined to control the pain, not allow it to control him. However, no matter his intentions, he couldn't stop himself from writhing in his bed, frightening the nurse. Such movement held an enormous risk of furthering the damage done by his injury. The nurse turned and called for help.

The doctor, an Indonesian man with an impressive education (but an unfortunate habit of fraternising with organised crime) appeared, already producing another needle. This time, he didn't bother with injecting Yassen in the same manner as the nurse and then waiting for his body to metabolise the drugs. He injected the needle's contents directly into Yassen's IV.

"I'm going to sedate you," He said, "It's too dangerous to leave you conscious."

Yassen opened his mouth to protest, but found that suddenly, everything was fading away like water down a drain and his ability speak was following quickly.

Just before everything darkened completely, Yassen found a brief spurt of strength, enough to deliver a demand.

"Don't tell Alex."

"I think I need a holiday." Julian said, not meeting Mrs. Jones' eye. He toyed with his food instead, not feeling any particular enthusiasm for the meal in front of him.

Mrs. Jones' brow furrowed and she regarded him with surprise.

"I thought you were caught up on dealing with Alex and Yassen?"

Julian shrugged and managed to meet Mrs. Jones' confused gaze.

"This whole thing… It's getting to me Tulip." He swallowed, more from nervousness at his lying then real sadness, "When I was watching Isabis... I started wondering if I can trust myself to do the right thing… I don't know if I can and that scares me."

Tulip's expression softened and something like sympathy entered her eyes.

"That's pretty noble of you," She said kindly, "Where would you go on holiday?"

"Africa I think." Julian pretended to think about it, "I want a bit of a Mediterranean experience, but I don't have the money for Greece or Italy. I was thinking maybe Tunisia?"

Mrs. Jones' face quickly reacquired its confused frown.

"Tunisia?" She repeated doubtfully, "Why there? I would have thought that the south of France would have been far cheaper then flying to Africa."

For a moment, Julian was caught out, unsure what to say. Then, an excuse came to mind.

"I don't particularly like France," He pretended to admit; "I find it overly touristic. I've never been to Africa though. Maybe I could go on a safari and look at some lions?"

Tulip smiled in smug amusement, like one who has had their intelligence proven.

"Lions are extinct in northern Africa, Julian." She said dryly.

Julian was quickly growing tired of Mrs. Jones.

"Oh well." He forced a nonchalant smile, "Perhaps I shall just go to Tunis and investigate the sights there."

Mrs. Jones suddenly frowned and looked at Julian very closely, making him squirm slightly in his seat.

"You really want to give up the hunt for Yassen and Alex?" She asked, "I was really counting on you to come with me to France."

Julian had to resist the urge to smirk. Mrs. Jones had bought his story that whilst she'd been outside, Isabis had admitted to Julian that Yassen and Alex were headed to France.

"I know." Julian bit his bottom lip and tried to widen his eyes innocently, forcing his face into an expression of regret, "I feel so bad… I mean, I'm worried… But, I'm really scared I won't be able to look myself in the mirror once this is all done if I come with you…"

'Oh bravo.' A nasty little voice in the back of Julian's head sounded like it might be rolling its eyes. 'You're not overdoing it at all.'

Mrs. Jones' smile was a trifle sad now, sympathy and pity etched into the lines around her eyes.

"I understand." She replied, producing her wallet and placing some money on the table (Julian noted she was leaving a tip and quite a substantial one at that. Not for the first time he felt a stab of resentment over his own impoverished state). "I'm a little disappointed, I'll admit that, but I understand."

Julian followed as Mrs. Jones stood and lead the way from the restaurant.

"I'm sorry," He apologised again, "Please don't be upset with me."

Mrs. Jones laughed.

"Upset?" She repeated in amusement, "I actually think it's rather wise of you… If you don't trust yourself, I respect your self-control."

Julian didn't trust himself to reply to that, so he merely smiled and bid Mrs. Jones goodbye. As he climbed into the privacy of his own car however, he allowed his emotions to escape.

It was a long time before he could stop laughing.

Alex was irritated. He knew it was unreasonable, considering the circumstances, but his temper had kicked in before he'd really been able to think things through.

"Why can't I see him?" He demanded for what felt like the hundredth time. Arguing with this doctor felt like trying to chew his way through a brick wall.

The doctor, a short Indonesian man, frowned at Alex disapprovingly.

"Yassen is lucky to be breathing on his own," He said sternly, "As it is, simple respiration is painful and potentially dangerous. Visitors are utterly out of the question."

"I only want to talk to him for a minute!" Alex snapped, "He doesn't even have to talk back! I just have to tell him something!"

The doctor looked equally exasperated by the entire situation now.

"Well, write it down and I'll deliver the message then."

"No!" Alex spat out from between gritted teeth, "It's private."

"I'm sorry, you'll have to wait then." The doctor paused, "You can try again-"

"Doctor Damodara!" A woman suddenly shouted from beyond the double doors that separated the room Alex stood in from the actual clinic and ward, "Come quickly!"

Doctor Damodara didn't hesitate. Without a single further word, he sprinted through the doors, producing a syringe of some kind. Before the doors could swing shut, Alex slipped into the ward after him.

The ward was empty of patients, except for the bed down the end. Alex saw Yassen and felt his heart catch in his throat.

Usually so controlled and invulnerable a man, Yassen looked utterly broken now. His skin was pale and his face drawn. Even more frighteningly, the Russian lay writhing in his bed, back arched and fists opening and closing in agony. Even from where Alex stood by the doors, he could hear the rasps and pained, shallow breathing.

Alex couldn't stand it, but he found he was quite unable to turn away from the horrible, terrifying sight of the man who was currently the closest thing he had to family, tortured by a pain beyond his ability to tolerate. Alex found his throat had closed up and he was shaking from fear.

Thankfully, once Doctor Damodara injected the contents of the needle in his hand into Yassen's IV, there was little more to see. Yassen became very still quickly and Alex's sigh of relief was a quiet, ragged breath, leaving him shuddering in its wake.

Then, seemingly just before he passed out, Yassen spoke.

"Don't tell Alex."

At this, Alex was unable to a small cry from escaping his mouth. At this sound, Doctor Damodora and the nurse looked up sharply. The colour drained from the nurse's face when she saw the horrified, yet oddly empty expression on Alex's face. She looked at Doctor Damodora, obviously panicking.

"Alex!" Damodora was obviously shocked to see him there, "I… Don't move!"

This seemed like an odd demand to make. Alex opened his mouth to question the doctor, but found he was shaking too hard and words simply wouldn't come. He meant to take a step forwards, but at that moment, everything came crashing together at once. Alex gave a strangled sort of gasp as everything that had happened to him in the last week or so registered.

Then, everything slanted violently and the ground rushed up to meet him, accompanied by an old acquaintance: the swift blow of the black void.

Haha, it just wouldn't be the same if I didn't end the chapter in a cliffy, melodramatic manner as always! Alex going into a mini nervous breakdown and blacking out seemed as good a way as any to do exactly that :P

So, here are my questions for this time 'round:

a) Did this chapter remind you of any songs?

b) Any more guesses about what became of Nastya, who she was, what she was to Yassen etc?

c) What is Jun going to try and do for revenge? Any ideas are more then welcome!

d) Any thoughts for how Alex's first therapy session should go?

Anyway, nice to finally be back! Hope you guys liked this chapter!

TTFN from Vampassassin