The Collector

Heading up from the parking garage and delivery entrance, the Killjoys, two of the group being carried by Kobra and Jet and one in a wheelchair, were grateful for the large goods elevator. Even in this safe location, none of them wanted to be separated. It was over, for now at least, but they still felt a little on edge. Perhaps their senses were still heightened by adrenaline, but they knew, once they were inside Kami’s, they could finally relax. Kobra made a mental note to thank Ghoul for his foresight, determination and courage to back his instincts against the android Party by stopping Red mentioning Kami’s name, or any of their other contacts. He had no doubt that if he had not, their next mission would be rescuing Kami from BLI or avenging her death.

“Ghoul, sweetheart,” Kami tilted her head to look at the young man seated in the wheelchair, “you look a bit pale. Are you okay?”
“I’m... I’m a bit sore,” he admitted without looking up.

Kami turned a concerned expression to Jet, who immediately nodded. It seemed as though they both knew that ‘a bit sore’ was code for ‘in excruciating pain.

“Party’s got his meds in his pocket. I’ll fish them out when we get upstairs.”
“I’m fine,” Ghoul almost mumbled. “Just look after Party.”
“Believe it or not,” Kami smiled, stroking Ghoul’s hair and receiving a soft sigh in response, “I can look after more than one person at the same time.”

Ghoul tipped his head back, pressing it into Kami’s hand.

“You stopped,” he smiled, looking up and back so she appeared upside down to him.
“I’m sorry, sweetie,” she laughed, running her fingers gently across his hair once more.

Only moments later, the elevator slowed to a smooth stop and Kami moved forwards to pull the metal concertina door aside. Re-entering the elevator, Kami continued her ministrations until Jet and Kobra had stepped out, before following with Ghoul.

“You’re limping,” she commented as she drew alongside Kobra.
“I know,” he offered a small smile. “It’s bandaged up so I can’t bend it. It’s just a small sprain, I’ll be fine. There’s only Jet and Red unhurt, actually.”
“And how is Red? She was only speaking to me a minute or so ago and she was asleep again even before Party passed out.”

Kobra looked down at Red once again sleeping peacefully in his arms, a half smile on her lips and raising one of his own.

“Yeah, she’s exhausted. And before you say it, I know we all are, but there wasn’t much point us all staying awake in the car.”
“Did anyone else get any sleep?”
Kobra laughed. “No! We were all too busy trying to keep Party awake. Don’t ask me why but he insisted on driving all the way. I know it wasn’t very far, but I don’t think any of us wanted to wake up in a hole with Party asleep at the wheel, you know?”
“Well, let’s get you all rested!” She chuckled as they walked through the stock room. “It’s a long way back to Zone 6.”
“Oh, we’ve got a lot to do before we go back home,” Kobra rolled his eyes.
“Like what?” Kami asked with concern as they passed through the door to her living room.
“Well, for one,” Kobra began, as he gently lowered Red onto the smaller of the two couches and bent to place a soft, sweet kiss on her forehead. “I want... well, I think we all want, to kill Candi and Ice for what they did to us,” he continued in a casual tone as if it were an everyday occurrence.
“Ah,” Jet began; he sounded hesitant, almost apologetic. “Already did. Sorry.”

Kobra raised an eyebrow; despite his statement that they would all want to kill Candi and Ice, he knew that none of them truly relished the prospect. It was a matter of self-preservation. Alive and free, it was more than possible that the pair would sell their knowledge of them again and the next time, they might not be so fortunate. Killing them was the only option available to them, but despite everything, they had once been friends and it would be no easy task. Added to that, Kobra knew that, of all of them, Jet was the least comfortable with killing. He would, if he had to, but it always affected him. Killing Candi and Ice, no matter how necessary, would have taken its toll on him and Kobra was concerned. When a suitable time presented itself he would speak to him, but not now, not in front of everyone.

“Don’t apologise, Jet,” Kobra clapped his arm across the older man’s shoulders. “You did the world a favour.”

Jet merely grunted an acknowledgement and gave a short perfunctory nod. Lowering Party down onto the other couch, he began to search Party’s pockets for the tablets and instructions given to him by Dr Fielding; he speeded up his search as he heard Ghoul stifle a pained moan. No one had even noticed Kami leave the room until she returned with several bottles of water, first handing one to Ghoul before placing the others on the table. Finding three strips of tablets wrapped inside a piece of paper in Party’s jacket’s inside pocket, Jet stood up and quickly read the instructions on the paper.

“Okay, Ghoul,” he began handing the younger man a strip of tablets. “Two of these, and...” he handed him another, “one of these.”
“Thanks,” Ghoul replied gratefully, popping the pills from the blister packs. “What about the others?”
“They’re the same as that one,” he pointed to the second strip. “You might need more of them.”
“What are they?”

Jet examined the letter again and took a deep breath.

“The first one with the unpronounceable name is an antibiotic, and the second one with the completely unpronounceable name is a painkiller.”
“Oh, good,” Ghoul smiled thinly. “I glad there’s plenty of them.”
“Come on, sweetie,” Kami stepped forward. “Take them and we’ll get you and Party tucked up in bed for the sleep of a lifetime.”

Ghoul was already swallowing the pills as she spoke, grateful to finally have some pain relief.

“Oh, but, do you want something to eat first?” Kami asked with uncertainty. “I know you all desperately need both, especially Party, but I don’t know...”
“Sleep,” Ghoul interrupted. “Sorry, Kami, we just need to sleep,” he added with heavy lidded, drooping eyes.

Leaning down, Kami placed a kiss on his cheek.

“Jet, can you bring Party, please? I’ll show you to my room.”
“Sure,” Jet nodded, lifting the still unconscious Party, and frowning at how light he felt. Party was never heavy, but the last few days of starvation had made a significant difference. Only now did he notice that Party’s normally close-fitting jeans looked as loose on him as Ghoul’s.

Left alone with the still sleeping Red, Kobra settled himself onto the opposite couch previously and briefly occupied by Party and tried hard to stay awake himself.

*

“Miss Hart,” Sorby’s tall and imposing form entered her suite. “You wanted to see me?”

Hart’s suite was a set of large, decorative but tastefully furnished rooms, mostly in creams, bronze and gold, situated in the east wing of the museum. She had other properties within Battery City, but mostly she preferred to stay amongst her prized collections. She was, at that moment, reclined on a black leather couch, holding a glass of brandy, swirling the liquid in the glass to gently warm it. All around, examples of her favourite artworks that she had kept for her own pleasure. The paintings included a number of portraits, seascapes and country scenes and were nestled among examples of nineteenth century glassware and pottery from Europe, and even two small statues of Greek goddesses standing either side of the entrance to her bedroom.

“Yes, Miles, thank you for coming so quickly. I was wondering what progress you had made in your preparations for returning my property?”

Sorby smirked at the use of the phrase.

“I have made a great deal of progress, Miss Hart. I have devised a trap, not dissimilar to the animal traps people used to leave in woods. Fun Ghoul will be the bait, of course, and I have no doubt that Party Poison will try to rescue him. However, once inside, there is no way out until we open it.”
“Excellent! I would like to see it once it’s ready. You know how appreciative I am of your work,” she smiled broadly, eliciting a similar response in Sorby. “And how will you obtain your bait?”
“With the assistance of four disposable men and my pilot, Bob.”
“Disposable?”
“Yes, Miss Hart,” Sorby nodded, his expression growing serious. “Don’t worry, they will be disposed of completely, there will be no trace of them.”

Rising from her seat and placing the brandy glass on a low table in front of the couch, she headed over to her bar area, along the far wall.

“I can always rely on you, Miles. Can I pour you a drink?”
“Thank you, ma’am; a whisky if you have it.”
“I do,” she smiled, “I have only the best, of course.”

Pouring him a large crystal tumbler of the finest single malt, she offered the glass to Sorby, collecting her own on the way. Raising it, she proposed a toast.

“To the return of property,” she nodded.

Sorby lifted his glass, lightly tapping it to hers making a gentle, musical ringing sound.

“To the return of property,” he agreed, as they both took a sip of their drinks.

*

“Hey!”

Kobra’s eyes barely opened at the insistent interruption. This was at least the third time the unwelcome noise had disturbed his sleep. From a sitting position with his eyes closed, Kobra had, at some point, settled down, stretching himself along the deep, comfortable cushions and resting his head on a soft cloud-like pillow.

“Hey, Kobra.”

In his head he quite clearly asked the interloper to go away. Determined not to wake up, he refused to engage whoever it was in conversation. Of course, due to his tiredness, his words were muffled and unintelligible. Obviously getting nowhere, the noise became a body, pressing against him. Immediately he was awake and alert, pushing forward to attack or defend - whichever was needed.

“Thanks,” came a disgruntled voice from the floor.

Now half sitting up, Kobra looked down, his heart racing, adrenaline flowing and eyes wide. Beneath him, and rolling over as he watched, Red glared up.

“What was that about?” She demanded, partly embarrassed and partly struggling not to laugh at Kobra’s horrified expression.
“I’m sorry, baby! I didn’t...” he pushed his hand through his hair as he scrambled for the right words. “I was asleep. I thought you... I... I don’t know what I thought,” he stammered. “What were you... I mean, is anything wrong?”
“Yeah, there’s something wrong,” Red chided as she pushed herself to her feet. “You just kicked me out of bed!”
“Red, I...” Kobra’s heart rate began to settle and with it he summoned his charm. “I didn’t know it was you. You gotta know, I’d never kick you out of bed.”

At the door to the living room, they heard a deep, heavy and exasperated sigh. Looking up, Kobra saw Jet and Kami returning. Red’s shoulders began to shake with laughter as she realised that her brother had returned at precisely the wrong moment.

“Kobra, do you like wait for me before you say stuff like that?” Jet asked with a resigned tone to his voice.
“Jet... no... it’s not what you think!” He exclaimed, keen to explain. “She came over and...”

Jet waved his arms in front of his chest, shaking his head at the same time.

“I don’t need to know,” he added.
“But, it’s...”
“I don’t want to know either.” Jet sighed again. “But can you at least keep it discreet? For a while, at least? I’m happy for you, man, I really am, but... yeah. Keep it on the DL, okay? As far as I’m concerned my little sister is sweet and innocent, and I’d like to keep thinking that.”
“Sure,” Kobra replied, his shoulders dropping; it really wasn’t worth trying to explain the misunderstanding. “Sorry, Jet.”
“And you can stop laughing too, Scarlet Toro!” Jet grumbled, noticing the shake, now almost overtaking her entire body. “You’re as bad as each other.”

Patting his arm gently, Kami moved to stand in front of Jet to make an announcement to them all.

“Well, I’m going to make some dinner,” she looked briefly at each of them in turn. “Do you want some, or do you want to sleep first?”

Even the mention of food was enough to start them salivating and most of the tiredness that they all felt, slipped suddenly away at the thought of eating. Kami noticed a subtle array of widening eyes and licking of lips and grinned in acknowledgement.

“Dinner for four then?”
“Can I help?” Jet asked keen to leave Kobra and Red with some privacy.
“If you like, sweetie,” Kami gently gripped Jet’s arm, “of course you can.”

Kobra waited until Jet and Kami had left the room and the door was long closed behind him.

“You keep getting me in trouble with your brother!” He smirked.
“Me?” Red pointed to herself with both hands, amping up her already exaggerated innocent expression.
“Yes, you!” Kobra grinned, pulling her closer. “He might want to believe you’re innocent, but I’m not that naive.”

Red lost her smile in an instant, stepping back and pulling away from him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She asked, indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Oh, come on,” he laughed, missing the seriousness in her eyes. “You’re not innocent.”

Red felt an unwelcome stinging sensation behind her eyes at the words and she turned quickly away, so he wouldn’t see her with tears glistening in her eyes.

Placing a hand on her shoulder, intending to turn her back around, Kobra flinched when she pulled forward, jerking her shoulder out of his hand. It was his first realisation that she wasn’t joking with him.

“No,” she spoke quietly, trying to hide the shake in her voice, “maybe I’m not now, thanks to you. I gave you the one thing I can’t give to anyone else and now you’re mocking me for it! I can’t believe I fell for your charm, Mikey Way. Now I know what they meant by your reputation!”
“Wait... what? What did I do?” He blurted in response.

Taking her arms and turning her almost forcibly, Kobra’s cheek stung as she slapped him at the action.

“Red, baby,” his eyes widened. “What’s wrong? What did I do?”

Behind them the door to the kitchen opened.

“You get what you want from me and now what? I’m damaged goods, or something?” Tears filled her eyes as she spat the words, more hurt than angry.

Kobra didn’t even get a chance to reply, before he was first turning before careening to the floor, dazed with pain exploding from his jaw and a furious Jet, lowering over him.

“Get up!” Jet demanded, rubbing his still clenched fist. “I told you what I’d do if you ever hurt her!”
“Well, you’re not doing it in here!” Kami shouted, her words stern and determined.
“Jet,” Kobra raised a hand in a defensive pose, “I swear, man, I’d never hurt her. I don’t know what I’ve done.”
“You called me cheap!” Red cried astonished at his lack of understanding.
“I didn’t!” He replied quickly as Jet’s face reddened with fury. “I joked about you not being innocent but... I... Red, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

Kami stepped forward and took Jet’s arm, pulling him slightly.

“Jet, sweetheart, it’s a misunderstanding. We need to give them their privacy.”
“What? I... If you hurt her...” Jet began as he allowed Kami to lead him away.
“I won’t.”

Kobra’s statement held so much sincerity, that both Jet and Red calmed instantly. Waiting again for them to leave the room, Kobra stepped forward and took Red’s hands in his.

“Last time we were here,” he began, his voice gentle and kind, “was that your first time? Was I your first?”

Red looked down, tears again stinging her eyes as she wondered how he would feel about the news. Would he mock her? Ridicule her? Laugh? Unable to find her voice, all she could do was nod. Pulling her closer, Kobra sighed and began stroking her hair as she hiccuped through her tears.

“Oh, Scarlet, sweetheart, I’m so sorry.”
“What for?” She asked raising her eyes to meet his - this answer might very well make or break their relationship.
“If I’d known that... Oh, Scarlet, I would have made it special for you. The right setting, romantic! Privacy,” he added, rolling his eyes. “Everything you deserve and trust me, you deserve everything.”
“You mean that?” Red asked quietly.
“Scarlet,” he sighed gently ending with a soft smile. “I love you, don’t you know?”
“I do now,” she replied, pulling him closer.

As their lips met, the door was opened just enough for Kami to see the two lovers, lost in their embrace, oblivious to everything.

“Everything’s okay now,” she whispered as she closed the door again.
“You’re sure?” Jet whispered in return.

Notes

Awww! I hope you liked that. This might be the penultimate chapter. Who knows? Not me!

Thanks for reading
Sas xx