Chapter fourteen : How love works

POV: Rudy Gillespie

File name: (Winter Freeman -unverified)
Mask alias: Sorrow –unverified)
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Height: 5' 4"
Approx. weight: 101 lb. –unverified)
Skin color: fair
Hair color: Pale blonde
Eye color: Ice blue
Recognizable characteristics: Phoenix tattoo on neck under hair
Parents: J. Freeman and Karen Lesser -unverified)
Siblings: Jake (Freeman-unverified) – deceased
Known crimes: First degree Murder, kidnap, use of deadly force, possession and use of deadly and/or illegal weaponry, conspiring with dangerous criminals, assistant robbery, resisting arrest, attempted murder
Known victims: Jake (Freeman)-deceased) Reiley (unknown)-missing) Officer Sandra Reece-deceased) Ryan Ono –missing) Phillip Myer-deceased) Officer Charles Keenan –deceased) Officer Carl Lurie –deceased)Officer Lloyd Sherry –deceased)

File name: Jackson Brewer
Mask alias: Stain
Gender: Male
Age: 14
Height: 5' 9"
Approx. weight: 100 lb.
Skin color: lightly tanned
Hair color: chocolate brown
Eye color: Hazel; brown base with green highlights
Recognizable characteristics: twin moles under eyes
Parents: T. Brewer and L. Brewer
Siblings: unknown
Known crimes: First and second degree Murder, kidnap, use of deadly force, possession and use of deadly and/or illegal weaponry, conspiring with dangerous criminals, assistant robbery, resisting arrest, attempted murder
Known victims: Ty Kesler –deceased) Officer Tammy Grey –deceased) Officer Sean Williams –deceased) Officer Gregory Andrews –deceased) Officer Jonathan Paige –deceased) Sergeant William Hill –deceased) Officer Paul Jepson –deceased) Officer Henry Kurtz –deceased) Officer Richard Pace –deceased) Sergeant David Rhodes –deceased) Officer Michael Seible –deceased) Security guard Edward Ashe –deceased)

File name: Taariq Dajuan –unverified)
Mask alias: Red
Age: Approx. 30
Height: 6' 3"
Approx. weight: unknown
Skin color: light –exact complexion unknown
Hair color: dark –exact color unknown
Eye color: dark –exact color unknown
Recognizable characteristics: Unknown
Parents: unknown
Siblings: unknown
Known crimes: Second and third degree Murder, kidnap, use of deadly force, possession and use of deadly and/or illegal weaponry, conspiring with dangerous criminals, assistant robbery, resisting arrest, attempted murder, forgery, manslaughter, possession/dealing/use of deadly or illegal drugs
Known victims: Andrew Alan (Eckner -unverified) –deceased) Shawn Volt –deceased) Shira Dolley –deceased) Karen Lloyd –deceased) T. Brewer –deceased) Morgan Loft –deceased) Logan Path –deceased) Shang Lee –deceased) Sergeant Doug Wills –deceased) Fabio Montoya –deceased) Mateo Jada –deceased) Lindsay (unknown) –deceased) Serei Dysilwen –missing) Thomas Perry –deceased) David Lockley –deceased) Angela Muri –deceased) Karen Williams –deceased) Miriam Kalzo –deceased) Phillis Kane –deceased) Officer David Hearty –deceased) Sergeant Bradley Earls –deceased) Jason Howard –deceased) Andre Stephen –deceased) Paki Abdukrahman –missing) Damali Pahkakino –missing) Edan Maconaquea –deceased) Samantha Xqueai –deceased) Officer Manuel Curin –deceased)

I sighed, setting the police papers down. "I don't have any more details I can give you." I told officer Biggs. He nodded, taking the papers as I handed them back to him. "Now, you're sure that the Mask leader… Red, as they call him, is actually Taariq Dajuan?" he asked me.

I sighed, thinking back to when I had clearly seen his face, that moment in the water when I had grabbed my son from him. "Yes, it's him." I told him. He nodded. "Okay, thank you, mister Gillespie. With the information you and your friends have given us, we are sure to be able to track down the rest of the Masks." He told me.

I nodded again. "Oh, speaking of my friends… how are they doing?" I asked. "They were taken to the hospital, and, all but your son, that is, were… well enough to go through questioning after initial wounds were cared for, they're fine." He told me. I nodded, catching Jerry's eyes as he shared my glance.

"Can we go see them?" I asked. Officer Biggs nodded slowly. "Yes, you can." He told us. I thanked him and we stood. "Good day, my friends." He closed the door behind us.

I had to get a cab to drive us to the hospital, it was too far to walk, and my car was still at the dojo. It was the middle of the day by the time we got there, and I was so tired, I literally felt as if I could lay down on the hardest surface imaginable and still be able to sleep.

"Okay… Kimberly Crawford is in room 118, and… Samuel Gillespie is in room… 121." The front desk lady gave us visitor passes and we went in. "Okay, so I'll stop by quick and say hi to Kim, but I want to see Sam, so you keep her company for a while, okay?" I told Jerry. He nodded.

I stopped and went in the room that said '118' over it. I walked quietly into the dimly lit room, waiting for my eyes to adjust before I walked closer to the girl in the bed. The smile that showed she was awake was all I needed to know she was alright. "Hey." I said softly, taking her outreached hand. I rubbed my thumb over it carefully, avoiding the wire on her finger that connected her to the heart-monitor.

"How you feeling?" I asked. She had a large bandage wrapped around the entire top half of her torso. She smiled again. She shifted slightly into a comfortable position, where she was leaning back on her pillows. "Never better, but I'm impatient to get out of this darn hospital." She told us, looking around. I smiled. She was fine.

"Okay, I just wanted to see how you're doing… "I began. "Go ahead, I know you want to check on Sam." She told me, smiling. I smiled my thanks and left.

"Room… 121…" I murmured, turning into the room. I stopped and stared at the small form that was my son. He was laying on his side, an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, bandages on his right arm, and all kinds of tubes hooked to him. I swallowed, standing at the door, staring at him painfully. It hurt to see him like this. He was so young and defenseless.

Why hadn't I saved him sooner? I could have saved him from all this pain. If only I'd been a better father, maybe he would have listened to me and stayed put at the dojo when I'd told him to. If I'd been a better father, maybe he would have stayed and watched Kim, and she wouldn't have followed him, and wouldn't have gotten hurt either. Was all this my fault?

I swallowed hard, walking over and sitting in the guest chair and scooting it closer so I could watch him breathe. His chest rose…. And fell. Rose… and fell. So calm, so serene. Just up and down. It was a wonderful sight, seeing him breathing. When I had carried him out of the water, his chest had barely been moving. It's the worst feeling in the world, watching the one you love more than anyone else slowly fading. And now, painful as it was to see him there, it was a joyous moment that he was alive and able to be there at all.

"I love you buddy." I whispered, pushing the hair back from his face gently. His eyes opened and he started at me. "I love you too." He breathed hoarsely. I smiled, feeling tears coming. "But… I didn't save you in time." I sobbed quietly. A small smile touched his face. "I'm alive aren't I? That's good enough timing for me." He coughed, then moved his hand weakly and let it rest on mine, which still lay on his cheek.

"Besides, that's just how love works."

POV: Jerry Martinez

I stared at Kim. She was the only person I could stare at now that Rudy had gone.

Yeah, her hair was messy and tangled, yeah she had cuts and bruises all over her face; but she was still more beautiful then than she ever had been before. For the simple fact that she was alive and able to be so beautiful, was a beautiful thing in itself.

I smiled and walked over to sit by her bed and take her hand. She smiled back, but I could see the pain she hid behind her eyes. I knew she was hoping the smile would be enough to distract me from it, but I could see it was there. My smile faded. "Kim, what's wrong?" I asked carefully.

Her smile vanished and she looked down, chewing on her lip. "It's just-" She sighed. "I… saw him. Jack. He was… out of his mind." She was staring past me now, and her eyes glazed over as she dug into her memories. "He has never hit me before. But he did. He's never… hurt me before, never, scared me…" She whispered the last part as though the memory haunted her.

"His eyes…" She breathed. "They were so dark, and empty. There was no spark, no joyful, teasing glint… just black, and soulless. He was angry, but… conflicted." She cocked her head, then suddenly looked up at me, as though just realizing I was there. "Jerry, I don't think he knows what he's doing! He's, he's out of his mind! We have to find him, and, and help him!" She sat up.

"Whoa, hold on Kim." I pushed her back down. "You're in no state to be moving. The police have been searching for hours, yo. If they haven't found him yet, then he's gone. We just have to accept that." As hard as it was for me to accept that my best friend had indeed turned into a mindless homicidal maniac –and can I just say, not many people get to say that- I had finally made myself believe that he was truly gone. No one could fall as far as he had fallen and be able to get back up again. He was too deep in this mess now. Stuck in his own lies, and held down to be drowned by the blood of the people he'd slaughtered.

I closed my eyes, shaking my head slowly. I drew in a breath and let it out before looking back up at Kim. The sadness in her eyes broke my heart. And then, truly then, did I realize how much she had loved him.

The choked, tearful words she spoke next remained branded in my memory for years and years to come. "I will always love him, no matter what he does, no matter how far he falls. That's just how love works."

(A/N: Hope you liked! Special thanks to the lovely Amber Johnston! Please REVIEW to let us know how we did! :D