The Collector

Korse looked up, deliberately catching Party’s eye and staring long enough for Party to be drawn. In at least one way they were similar, each of them liked to goad the other. It had almost become an aspect of their unusual and somewhat forced relationship – uncle and nephew, exterminator and rebel. Both had a grudging sort of respect for the other’s intellect but it could equally have been apprehension or even fear. Whatever the reason, neither took the other for a fool or underestimated their abilities. Right now, it seemed that Party had the upper hand, but he could never be certain.

“You may think you’ve won, Poison, but…” Korse began, only to pause as Party yelled at him, surprising everyone and raising a few eyebrows.
“Shut up!”

Party took a deep, noisy breath, letting it out slowly as he forcefully calmed himself. Walking over to stand over the BLI Exterminator, Party stared down with a curious combination of feelings and emotions all jostling for position on his face, including animosity, disbelief, tiredness and disgust.

“You think this is winning?”
“No, you aren’t winning, you just think you are,” Korse replied, his own expression cold and unyielding.
“No, Korse, we don’t think that this is winning. This is surviving. This is us making it until tomorrow, so we can help people and keep running and fighting. I don’t expect you to understand the idea of helping, though. It must be something of an alien concept to you.”

Party’s mouth formed a deep frown as Korse shook his head and chuckled.

“For someone who’s tied up and without protection, you’re pretty cocky,” Party noted, raising an eyebrow.
“Don’t imagine for a moment that I’m without protection, or that you’ll leave this hospital,” Korse replied, his tone cutting and superior. “Any of you.”
“If you’re referring to the other draculoid you came with,” Red cut in, “forget it, he’s dead.”
“Do you honestly believe that I arrived with only three draculoids without sending for back up? No, I’m referring to the three squads that will have this hospital surrounded by now. You aren’t leaving here, Poison. None of you are leaving.”

Korse offered them a smug, gloating smile as he glanced around a sea of unnerved and concerned faces.

“Do you have any external security cameras?” Party asked, turning a worried expression to Hawes.
“No, I’m afraid not,” Hawes replied, frowning. “We did have. Most were broken in the Helium Wars, and the rest have all fallen into disrepair over the years since.”

Party frowned and looked around the room at the other Killjoys looking for inspiration. It was Kobra who spoke first.

“Where’s our car?” He asked.
“It’s in the underground parking lot,” Hawes replied. “It used to just be for staff, but now anyone can use it. We don’t get many cars here and it keeps them out of the sandstorms and acid rain.”
“So, underground.” Kobra tipped his head as he considered the words. “Can we get to it without going outside?”
“Yes,” Hawes nodded, realising with a smile where Kobra was leading. “You’ll be able to get to your car, but you’ll have to come into the open to get out.”
“And it has to be all of us though, doc,” Jet added. “If you stay, they’ll kill you just for helping us. Do you have a car too?”
“I do,” Hawes shrugged, “but it’s not nearly as powerful as yours.”
“Don’t worry,” Jet nodded, “we’ll lead them away. You can leave when it’s clear.”
“You haven’t been listening have you?” Korse piped up in a condescending tone.
“To you?” Jet scowled. “Yeah, we heard you.”
“No,” he chuckled softly again. “Not to me.”

Jet frowned; if not him then, he could only mean one thing.

“They’re not just surrounding the hospital, they’re inside!”
“And if not already, they’ll have you cut off from your car in no time. You are all trapped.”
“Yeah?” Kobra snapped, furious with their newfound situation. “Well, so are you!”
“Gag him!” Party instructed, grimacing at the news. “I don’t want him shouting and giving away our position.”
“Too late, Poison,” Korse smirked. “I’m always one step ahead of you. Surely you know that by now?”
“You’re wired?” Party exhaled deeply and shook his head, angry with himself for not realising sooner. “And you have a tracer!”
“My men always know where I am.” Korse confirmed, flatly. “And by extention, where you are.”
“Yeah, well, not for long,” Kobra growled, tearing open Korse’s coat and searching without care for the two devices.
“Gently, Mikey,” Korse admonished with a light chuckle. “I am your uncle, after all.”

Kobra’s eyes glazed with fury at the words. He felt sick to the pit of his stomach that this man, this evil man, was related to him so closely. But more than that, he had killed his father and tortured him as a small boy to try to force him to forget. For many years, most of his life so far, it had been successful, but it had all come back to him in a rush of cruel memories. If he could have hated him more, he would have.

Lifting his arm, Kobra’s expression darkened to one of sheer hatred and contempt. As he looked down, Korse’s own expression was mocking and without shame, only serving to anger him further. Bringing the side of his hand down sharply on the side of Korse’s neck, he nodded with satisfaction as Korse crumpled before him. Now half lying, half sitting and unconscious, the BLI exterminator was in no position to offer any further comments or taunts. Pushing himself to his feet once more, Kobra shook his head in disgust then, after a moment’s hesitation, accepted Party’s extended arm as he pulled his brother into a much-needed hug.

Red listened intently as the room fell into relative silence. There was very little to hear beyond the room, but every now and then, she thought she heard an occasional sound, which might have been the shuffle of boots on the vinyl floor. Turning to face Jet, she noticed that behind him, Fielding and Hawes were attending to Ghoul, one changing the bag of IV fluid hanging from the drip stand and the other administering an injection.

“I’m taking a look,” Red whispered to Jet before creeping silently to the door.
“Be careful,” Jet whispered in return.

Red raised her eyebrows and offered a questioning look that said: ‘Really?’. No actual words needed to be spoken, and she shook her head as Jet merely offered a light shrug and a smile in return.

Approaching the door slowly and quietly, Red opened it to peer out only to pull back immediately. As she did a bolt of laser fire impacted with a loud sizzle and a shower of sparks on the door frame. In less than a second, Jet was pulling her away from the door, slamming it shut and had started building a barricade to hold them back. The blast had startled the brothers, unaware of Red’s attempt to look outside the room and had spun out of their hug, ready to fight. Even Ghoul had been too surprised by the sound of the laser impact to object with more than a yelp of pain as Hawes jabbed the syringe in hard, also alarmed by the sudden noise.

“Well, he wasn’t lying,” Red commented in a wry tone, as she helped Jet move a some of the heavier equipment not in use in front of the door.
“How about the bed?” Ghoul asked. “It must be pretty heavy.”
“You need it,” Party replied with a sympathetic frown, joining the effort to barricade the door.
“If we’re gonna have to fight our way out of here, I gotta get up sooner or later,” Ghoul objected, sitting up and reaching for the bedsheets to pull them aside.

Shaking her head in dismay, Fielding Moved quickly to Ghoul’s side and found that pressing him back down to lie in the bed with nothing more than a hand on his chest was far too easy. He had even tried to fight her, but his strength was gone and with it, his ability to resist her.

“You’re in no fit state to fight,” Fielding replied, shaking her head. “Or even run for that matter.”

As much as he hated to admit it, he was in no position to argue. Taking pains to hide it, he had actually been somewhat relieved that Fielding had pushed him back down onto the bed to rest as the mere action of sitting upright had robbed him of what little strength he had and he was now exhausted and drained, lying dizzy and breathing quite heavily.

“Well, we’re not leaving him,” Party countered, having observed Ghoul’s normally olive skin turning a deathly pale hue. Now turning to face the two doctors, he added: “So, we need another plan... but using only what’s in this room.”

Looking around, Party’s shoulders sagged; there were no weapons other than the three guns that Kobra, Jet and Red had brought in, and nothing that even seemed likely that they could use. Severely outnumbered, outgunned and pinned down inside the small room, they truly were trapped.

*

Evelyn Hart stared bleakly at the empty exhibition she had spent so much time, effort and money putting together. Everything was still intact, as if it were simply waiting to be completed. She allowed her eyes to roam slowly over each of the four cells, her eyes returning to one particular cell.

“You know,” Sorby spoke gently, quietly entering the room and taking his place beside her. “If you want, I can get him for you again.”

Evelyn turned a somewhat dazed expression toward her personal assistant. At first she appeared surprised that he would even suggest it, but as the thought slowly sank in, a smile began to form on her face. Pushing her long hair back over her shoulder, she allowed her smile to broaden.

“Him?” she asked, tilting her head with amusement. “Not them?”

Sorby lowered his head and allowed a soft chuckle to escape his lips. He knew that she had very much wanted to showcase this particular exhibition, but now after everything that had happened, he simply wasn’t sure if she wanted to begin again Ghoul, on the other hand, he knew her feelings toward him. He knew, because they matched his own. The Killjoy was small but toned, handsome and pretty at the same time, with perfect cupid’s-bow lips and soft black hair. No one could blame either of them for wanting him. Sorby didn’t feel jealous of Evelyn however; yes, he could certainly see the attraction in Ghoul, but the slightly older, fiery-red haired Killjoy was also extraordinary.

“I know your feelings toward Fun Ghoul,” he nodded, “and I am more than happy to help you make him yours again. This time he won’t escape, I promise you that.”

Evelyn turned and taking Sorby by the elbow, led him out to the next exhibition room. It was almost as if she couldn’t bear to be there. It had almost been a triumph for her, but instead, the room held only unpleasant memories.

“Miles?” Evelyn began tentatively. “What are your feelings toward him?”

Sorby smiled ruefully. He had never discussed his preferences with his employer, but they had been together such a long time that there was knowledge between them that hadn’t even needed to be spoken. But now, as she asked the awkward question, Sorby felt embarrassed to have been, at least to her, so transparent.

“Not so well hidden as I believed,” he replied with genuine regret lacing his words.

Evelyn smiled; the ends of her lips turning up as she gazed with a soft and sympathetic expression.

“So,” Evelyn began. “What do…”
“Fun Ghoul is yours, ma’am,” Sorby returned firmly. “Yes, I find him very attractive. How could I not? But he is not the only one to have caught my eye.”
“One of the others?” she queried, stepping closer to ask the question.

Sorby took a sudden deep breath as he remembered the three young men they had managed to capture. Each of them were devastatingly handsome. Even the brief glance he had managed of the fourth had given him pause. Yes, all four Killjoys were anyone’s dream, but there was one in particular that he had in mind.

“Party Poison, ma’am. The red-head. He is…” Sorby paused to find the words.
“Spectacular?” Evelyn suggested.

Sorby nodded; that was certainly the right word.

“Yes, ma’am.” He smiled lustfully. “Spectacular indeed.”
“Then, he will be yours.”
“Miss Hart?”

Sorby gasped at the words. She was a generous employer and he had amassed a considerable fortune of his own as her aide, but this was something different. This was beyond money or even material possessions. The chance to own Party Poison was almost overwhelming to him and made him all the more eager to return the four to their cells.

“I will find them and bring them here,” he nodded, almost dizzy with the idea. “You will have your exhibition and Fun Ghoul.”

Sorby took another deep breath, barely able to believe Evelyn’s next words.

“And you shall have Party Poison.”

Offering Sorby a smile, Evelyn knew that some, if not all, of his loyalty was bought. But this latest bonus offering was greater than money, much more than a gift. She knew Sorby would do everything he could to earn her favour with this latest promise. Fun Ghoul was as good as hers once more and this time, she would not underestimate them. No, this time, they would not escape.

Notes

Hello everyone. I'm really sorry for the delay in updating and for the fact that I haven't answered your comments before now. My mum passed away a couple of weeks ago and it's been a very trying time for me. It is good to be writing again, though. I find it quite therapeutic.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. Take care, all.

Sas xx