The Collector

It seemed an age that Kobra was standing, simply watching as brother and sister, separated by BLI and memory loss, found each other once more. It had been a very long time since he’d seen Jet cry. It wasn’t necessarily that it didn’t happen; there was more than enough sadness and pain in this life to warrant it, but Jet was usually so very private, if he had cried, no one would have seen it. Kobra had the strangest feeling that the emotional sibling reunion was something that he had experienced personally, but he simply couldn’t imagine how - he could not recall a time when he and Party were not together, but still there was that nagging feeling of recognition.

It was something he was reluctant to do, but it was necessary. They had to find Ghoul and they had to get out to rescue Party. That didn’t make this any easier.

“Jet?” He spoke quietly at first, almost as if he didn’t want to disturb them. “Jet?” He repeated, only slightly louder.

In the end, it was Red who heard him and rubbing Jet’s back briefly, she pulled back from the embrace.

“We should find Ghoul and get the hell out of here,” she said as if reading Kobra’s thoughts.

“Yeah,” Jet choked out, running the heels of his hands over his eyes to wipe the tears away.

“You okay, man?” Kobra asked.

“Yeah,” Jet smiled broadly. “Best day ever.”

Kobra glanced down at Evelyn, still lying on the floor, but straining her neck to see what was happening. For all her coldness toward them, she was intrigued and fascinated by the reconnection. But after her treatment of him, Kobra was unforgiving.

“Up!” He instructed sharply.

“Can you help me?” she asked, somewhat dejectedly.

“I can,” Kobra snapped. “But I'm not going to.”

He watched with satisfaction as she struggled to stand. Eventually, Red took hold of her right arm to pull her up, but Kobra intervened.

“No,” he growled. “'Let her struggle.”

“This is about rescuing Ghoul, not revenge,” she reminded him. “'Not yet,” she added to Evelyn’s distress.

Kobra nodded and reached down, practically pulling Evelyn to her feet.

“If I take you to Ghoul and let him go, will you let me live?”

“You have no bargaining chips, Hart!” Kobra snapped. “Just take us to Ghoul and we’ll see how we feel based on how well he looks.”

Evelyn looked down; she desperately wished she had treated Kobra better, but she had thought the governor was her best option given his martial arts skills. She had simply not foreseen how it could count against her; she had grossly underestimated them. In truth, despite what she had done to him, to all of them, Kobra didn’t intend to harm her, but it suited him that she didn’t know that.

Five corridors later, Kobra, Jet and Red could see the sleeping form of Fun Ghoul lying on a bed. They couldn’t understand why he remained there despite there being no door. Was he chained? Familiar with electronic devices, Kobra was suspicious. The only thing he could see was a glint of metal around Ghoul’s neck.

“He’s chained?” Kobra asked angrily.

“No,” Evelyn replied unhelpfully.

“Well what’s keeping him in that room?” He demanded.

“He’s unconscious,” Evelyn explained, not mentioning the electromagnetic field across the doorway, nor the device that prevented Ghoul from even reaching the exit.

Jet moved forward, accepting her words at face value; they seemed more than plausible.

“Ghoul!” He called, relieved to have found him relatively well and unhurt. “Ghoul, are you okay?”

“Jet, no!” Kobra called as Jet approached the doorway, but it was too late.

As Jet crossed the threshold he sank to his knees, holding his temples and gasped for breath as the invisible waves coursed through his body. The sound of his screams woke Ghoul from his sleep and he sat bolt upright before leaping to his feet.

“Jet!” He cried, the frustration of knowing he couldn't even approach, because of the collar, now eating at him.

“No!” Kobra yelled, catching Red around the waist as she tried to run to his assistance. “Switch it off!” Kobra demanded, as he held firmly to the still struggling young woman.

“And if I don’t?” Evelyn snapped in return.

“Try me,” Kobra growled moving his face close to hers, threateningly.

“I can't, my hands are tied.”

“Red!” Kobra turned her around and pushed her towards Evelyn. “She’s going to tell you how to switch off the power, do what she says.”

“I don’t trust her,” Red was beginning to panic as Jet slumped forward to the floor.

“She’ll do it right if she knows what’s good for her,” Kobra growled menacingly.

As the pair spoke, Ghoul was fighting the effects of the collar, desperate to reach Jet’s fallen form.

“Jet? Are you still conscious, man?”

“Yeah,” Jet replied, that one word seriously slurred and gravelly.

Sliding to the floor, Ghoul kept his neck as far from the doorway as possible and extended a leg.

“Grab my foot, Jet,” Ghoul instructed. “Jet! Grab my foot!” He repeated as he made no move. “Switch that damn thing off!”

Still barely conscious, Jet almost threw his arm forward and closed his fingers around Ghoul’s ankle. The shorter and much slighter man pressed his palms into the floor, hoping for sufficient friction to help him haul Jet to safety, but despite his best efforts, his first attempt moved him only a few inches. Straining hard, he tried again, with more success this time.

“Come on!” He screamed in frustration, as he continued to pull him through the doorway. Suddenly, Ghoul fell forward as he realised that Jet had lost his grip on his ankle. “Jet! Please!”

Evelyn began to describe a sequence of buttons for Red to press, thinking slightly too long for comfort between each one.

“Faster!” Red snapped.

“If I get the sequence wrong,” Evelyn smirked. “Well, who knows?”

“I know!” Kobra levelled his gun against her head.

“That gun’s dead,” Evelyn scoffed, “I took the battery out myself.”

Kobra raised it briefly and fired into the ceiling bringing a cloud of plaster raining down.

“Six, two, one, four,” she reeled off

Red quickly pressed the sequence of buttons. “There,” she exhaled deeply. “Has it stopped?”

Kobra looked down, Jet was clearly unconscious.

“Only one way to tell,” he announced as he grabbed Evelyn’s arm and dragged her over to the doorway. “Walk through!”

Evelyn paused, reluctant to move.

“Move!” Kobra shoved her forward.

“No!” She shrieked pulling up short of the doorway.

“You are going through,” Kobra shoved his gun into her neck below the jawline. “So you better make damn sure it’s off first.”

“Seven, two, nine.” She muttered in defeat.

“Seven, two, nine,” Kobra called back to Red, who pressed the buttons immediately. “In!” Kobra snapped.

Evelyn walked through the now open doorway and Ghoul took that as his cue to pull Jet the remaining few feet. Turning him over and checking his breathing.

“He’s alive,” he gasped out with relief.

Red dropped to Jet’s side as the older man slowly opened his eyes. He looked pale and drained, but despite this, a smile broke out on his face.

“I remember you,” his voice barely above a whisper.

“Jet?” Red’s voice shook as she grew increasingly worried. “I’m your sister, don’t forget me now.”

“No, no,” Jet shook his head, as Ghoul’s eyes widened in surprise. “I mean it. I remember. Whatever that was, it’s triggered my memories. I remember you!”

Red threw herself across his chest, hugging him as if her life, or his, depended on it.

“Sister? I didn’t even know you had a sister!” Ghoul queried. “When did this happen?”

“About twenty-four years ago,” Jet quipped, relishing his reinstated memories.

“Smart ass!” Ghoul scowled. “Seriously, how?”

“Well, when a mummy and a daddy love each other, they…”

“Jet!”

“It’s… I just remembered, Ghoul. We… I'll explain later, but yes, Red is my sister. Hey,” he lowered his eyes to look at the young woman still hugging him. “I’m okay,” Jet stroked her hair gently.

“Don’t do that again!” She scolded, allowing him to sit up.

“I won’t, I promise. Not now I’ve got family to look out for.”

“Harsh, man!” Ghoul chuckled. “I thought we were your family.”

Jet smiled as he got to his feet. “You can look after yourself!”

“Are you kidding?” Red laughed. “This is the second time we’ve had to rescue him. He’s a real damsel in distress!”

“As I recall, the only reason I didn’t escape the first time was because you were too busy acquainting yourself with Kid’s Kobra!”

“Dude!” Jet snapped in mock horror.

“We need to get out of here,” Kobra sighed, eager to set off to find Party. “We just need to deal with her.”

“I want my belt back,” Red announced.

“Well, I have an idea,” Ghoul grinned, removing the collar with ease now the perimeter field had been deactivated, before snapping it around Evelyn’s neck as Kobra held her still.

“Do you know how to switch it back on again?” Jet asked.

“Yeah,” Ghoul smirked as he unfastened the belt from around her wrists, “I watched Sorby do it.”

“Right,” Kobra nodded, satisfied. “Let’s go.”

Evelyn sighed heavily as the four left, reactivating the electromagnetic field as they went. She had grossly underestimated them. Not only had she lost a lot of money, but BLI were certain to be angry that they had escaped. That was not going to be a pleasant conversation.

*

Party felt empty. As if his mind had been ransacked and left in complete disarray. Opening his eyes to more pain than he had ever felt in his life it was a few minutes before he realised he was back in his cell. Mentally he checked himself over, but found himself having to restart several times, such was the level of his confusion and utter exhaustion. He forgot what he was even checking for a number of times and even when he remembered it seemed to him that the slightest movement caused so much agony that he simply couldn't tell if anything was broken or otherwise badly damaged. It was the first time in a very long time that he wished that his eyes hadn’t opened. Trying to swallow the pain of the extreme sadness he felt seemed impossible, with his mouth as parched as the desert and his lungs screaming with infection once more. He was weak, exhausted, aching and nauseous, not to mention finding it difficult to even breathe. He felt very much alone and not even the thought of a possible rescue could raise his spirits. Korse had been more than clear on that - he was being held in the depths of nowhere but his android lookalike would be easily located and rescued. It had his memories, it looked just like him. They would rescue it thinking it to be him and they would leave. Worst of all, he was helpless to prevent it. By the time anyone realised that something was wrong, would it have killed them? Would it, as Korse wanted, ruin his reputation. Would everything they had worked for be destroyed? Would BLI crush everyone’s spirit simply by destroying the Killjoys? He had said it himself, zone dwellers and rebels looked to them for inspiration, leadership and supplies. If all that were suddenly taken away, then yes, it could easily happen.

Party glanced toward the door as it opened, even that small movement proving uncomfortable. Now he doubly wished he was still unconscious as Korse and the Party android strode confidently inside.

“Good, you're awake,” Korse smirked as he looked down at his nephew. “I wasn't certain you would, but I'm glad you survived, Gerard.”

“Why?” Party whispered in reply. “So you can gloat?”

There was something in the way that he spoke that, at first, was hard for Korse to place. Something had changed other than the volume, and he needed to know what.

“I am reliably informed that your friends are on their way. There will be a brief, yet convincing, firefight and they will rescue you about to be placed in transit to a more secure facility. Ghoul, Jet, Kobra and your girlfriend will celebrate their good luck, no doubt, at choosing such a fortuitous time to arrive. They will return to your hideout and BLI’s much improved Party Poison will wreak havoc on the rebels and the zones.”

“Don’t underestimate them, Korse, they’ll work it out.”

Korse tipped his head; there it was again - something was different.

“Oh, I don’t think so, and, you know, I don’t believe even you think so,” Korse laughed. “But you know what they say: things seem to get much worse before they get worse. You should know that by now, Gerard. You do know that, don’t you?”

Party lowered his eyes, unable to answer the supercilious gloating of the BLI exterminator.

“Ah! That’s the difference!” Korse exclaimed. “You’re saying the words, but your passion is gone. What’s the matter, Gerard? Has your renowned sass and arrogance deserted you? Have I finally broken the great Party Poison?”

The exhaustion, infection and hours of physical, mental and emotional torture compounded and suddenly overwhelmed the young Killjoy and he felt defeated and helpless. His eyes misted beyond his control and he turned his head away rather than let Korse see his distress.

“Come,” Korse slapped a hand on the android’s shoulder, his tone buoyed up with merciless glee. “It’s time to crush his friends’ spirits too. This is indeed a historic day for BLI.”

Notes

I hope you're still enjoying it. Poor Party's having a tough time at the moment :(
Feel free to leave a comment, it's always good to know what works and what doesn't :)
Take care,
Sas xx