It was impossible to block the flow of concerns, so I simply let them stream unhindered, sitting weakly on the cream sofa. I didn’t know how long it took, but eventually I fell into a broken, confused daze that had none of the advantages of sleep. And yet somehow, I ‘woke up’ (for want of a better word) feeling much more refreshed, finding a new sense of hardened resolve. I decided to take one last scout around the flat to look for Mitsu, and then – when I found nothing different from before – I inspected the front door again.
The door was still locked; the handle refused to turn. I tried to pick the lock with a knife, but I was clueless and – unsurprisingly – it didn’t make the slightest difference. I stepped back again, looking around as though some solution would suddenly jump out at me. But nothing new appeared – I wasn’t really sure what I had been expecting. Sighing, I braced my shoulder, locking it in place, and took two swift strides forward, barging into the door. I was stunned when it flew open, barging into the wall on the other side – I hadn’t realised I was that strong!
Smiling and amazed, I ran back into the flat to grab a drink before sprinting through the ruined door and taking the steps two at a time. It was only when I got out of the building and onto the pavement nearby that the smile vanished rapidly from my face. “Mitsu!” I gasped. For there he was, standing coolly in front of me, his hands in his pockets and a disaffected look plastered over his face. “Hey Charlotte,” he greeted me casually, before folding my hands into one of his, using the other on the small of my back to turn me around. I was powerless against his thick muscles; I had noticed them earlier today. Besides, his smell was like a drug to me – it rendered me senseless, and I was pushed by him up the stairs and back into the flat. He paused only once, to inspect the door with a sigh.
George looked at me in confusion. “Are you sure?” he asked, a look of slight concern on his face. I nodded violently and jumped up, holding his hand. “Please, come with me…” George nodded and stood beside me, squeezing my hand. “Dawson, our butler, can access a database we own containing information on every person in the city. We use it mostly for Al Bhed missions.” I nodded and George led me out of the room, through the playroom and down the corridor, a haste to his steps I’d not seen before. We managed to find Dawson in the foyer, and waited (impatiently, in my case) as he checked the files. He gave us the number of Mitsu’s apartment, where I was sure Charlotte would be, and we ran out of the Devaux Mansion, leaping into the Jaguar. I sat, my heart thumping heavily against my chest, a small pain in my back that I couldn’t explain, worrying dearly for my sister. George held my hand tightly and I feared that if he let go, then my hope would crumble. I had to believe she was alright… But how could I explain this… sixth sense?
I watched Mitsu as he padded over to the door and examined the door more thoroughly. Sparing me a wilting glance, he lifted it up and slotted it back into the hinges, slamming it closed. It hung slightly crookedly, but it was closed – it wasn’t likely to attract any strange looks. Mitsu slowly came and sat with me on the luxurious sofa, taking my hands in his more gently than before. I simply glared at him. “What do you want?” I growled angrily.
Mitsu had the nerve to look offended, but answered me in a cold voice. “The same thing you do. I want to find your father. The real one.” I nodded. “And what makes you think I will – or even can – get him for you? Why do you even need me for that anyway?” Mitsu reached into his pocket and pulled out the gun from earlier, but as he opened his mouth to speak, a frenzied rap on the door distracted him. He crept over, still clutching the pistol, and checked the spy hole. “Your brother,” he mouthed at me, “Placate him, or I will shoot him.” I winced, and joined him by the door as he opened it a crack, just enough for me to see Steven looking paler than usual and very shaken.
“Charlotte,” he gasped, sounding relieved. I looked quickly at Mitsu, then back again. “What do you want?” I asked hardly, not meeting Steven’s eyes. “I just had…a feeling…that there was something…wrong.” I shook my head. “Everything’s fine. You really ought to go now.” Steven made to protest, but I glowered at him, and he let his shoulders drop a little. “Okay,” he whispered, and turned to leave. I noticed George standing behind him, and as the door began to close, he slipped his arms around Steven comfortingly.
I ignored Mitsu and went back to the sofa. “See now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” he breathed slowly. I said nothing, so he continued. “You were asking about incentive before, right? Well…how about we say he is your incentive? You don’t help me with your father, and I will hunt Steven down and kill him. And maybe, for good measure, I ought to shoot his friends; George and Georgina Devaux?” I looked up in shock. “You-you…you!” I couldn’t find a word bad enough to describe what I thought of him. Instead, I stood up and went through to the bedroom, locking the door behind me and sinking down onto the enormous bed. It was hard to believe that mere hours earlier, I thought I had found my happy ending.
George smiled comfortingly as he slipped his arms around me and begun walking me down the stairs. “See? She’s okay.” I shook my head violently. “No, she’s not. Did you see how pale and scared she looked? And her hair was a total mess, she never lets it get that bad! She’s a good actor, George, but I’m her brother. I know something is wrong.” I grabbed my phone and tapped in her number, waiting as the phone rang a few times. When she answered, it wasn’t her on the other end. “What do you want?” Mitsu’s voice rang out from the phone and I swallowed nervously. “What have you done with my sister, Mitsu?” He hung up the phone. Moments later, the door of his apartment slammed forward, breaking off its hinges and falling to the floor. Mitsu walked forward quickly and George stood in front of me, blocking my view. I heard a clicking sound, and Mitsu’s voice was harsh and cold.
“Get out of the way. Now.” George’s voice replied, but his was shaky and scared. “No. Leave him alone.” I saw Mitsu’s left hand spring up and slap George hard across his cheek, knocking him off balance and down a few stairs. I would have turned, but my eyes were fixed in horror at the cause of the sound I’d heard earlier. In Mitsu’s right hand was a small silver handgun, cocked and loaded.
“Steven. Just the boy I wanted to see.” George… George was hurt… “I’ve come to you with a simple warning.” George stood before a gun for me… “Your sister is no longer your property.” George would have taken that bullet. “She’s no longer your concern, she’s my girlfriend now and doesn’t want you here.” George… “Leave, now.”
I started running forwards, my hand pulled back and my fist clenched, hatred coursing through my veins. “LIAR!” I swung my fist forward but Mitsu darted to the side, and my fist made contact with the hard stone wall behind. I heard several cracking sounds in my hand and my arm was screaming with pain, it took every ounce of energy in my body to hold my tears back and glare at Mitsu, holding my wrist with my left hand.
“Fool. You’ll regret that.” I was just about to make an insult when I heard a loud “BANG!” sound ricocheted through the stairway. I made to gasp, but the sound caught in my throat. I looked down, the blood flowing profusely from my chest. I fell to the floor, pain searing throughout my entire body, and looked up at Mitsu as he smiled at me. He disappeared from view and returned a few seconds later as my vision blurred, dragging George, who was just returning to consciousness. Mitsu dropped George at my side, who turned and saw me bleeding, gasping for breath. “STEVIE!” His scream pierced the air, and my heart shattered inside me. He was so scared, so worried, and the pain that caused me was immense. He sat up and grabbed me by the shoulders. My vision began to blur slightly. “Stevie, no! Please, don’t leave me! I love you!” My head dropped to the side, and just as my vision obscured totally, I could see a teary-eyed Charlotte at the doorway, shaking her head in disbelief… And then everything went black.
I sat alone in the bedroom, pointedly ignoring the bed – it was too strong a reminder of the earlier events. After a while, I struggled back up to my feet and had another scout around the room. I was looking for something, anything, sharp enough to hurt Mitsu, but I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t find anything. He had been very thorough in removing everything from the room; the only things I could find were the clothes I had hung in the wardrobe later. A sharp knocking on the door made me curious; I unlocked the bedroom door as quietly as I could and peered out. Steven! I wanted to shout his name out, tell him to run, warn him that Mitsu had a gun in his hands, but the words refused to sound. Instead I walked over to the door, trying not to catch Mitsu’s attention (which would only serve to antagonise him further) or fall over at all.
It was the sharp bang that caught my attention. I peered around Mitsu silently, and quickly stifled the hysteria that threatened to break out at the sight of Steven, his crimson blood pouring out relentlessly. George scurried to bend protectively over Steven. The numb, deadened look in his eyes made the rage build up, and I rammed my shoulder into Mitsu’s back. He flew forward, smashing into the wall with a loud crack. “George! Get Steven to the hospital!” I bellowed, pressing my hands into Mitsu’s back to keep him there. Sparing George a glance, I noticed he was still kneeling weakly over Steven. “NOW!” I yelled, “Before it’s too late!” George seemed to snap into focus, and nodded at me. He scooped Steven’s limp frame up in his arms and sprinted down the steps, quickly disappearing from sight.
I stepped weakly backwards, releasing Mitsu. He turned around slowly, a malicious grin starting to grow. “You know you can’t save him, right? That was a very pointless move. You ought to have run when you could.” I shrugged. “Get inside,” he growled. “Or what?” I whispered, “You’ll kill me? Go for it. Go on, do it! I mean, I won’t help you with whatever you want now; you’ve lost my only motivation. There is nothing more you can take from me. So you might as well shoot me now, I’m not going to help you when it comes to my dad.” Mitsu growled wordlessly, and shoved me through the door, wrestling it closed again. I stared at him blankly until he struck my cheek with the back of his hand, so hard that I flew to the floor. I scrambled straight up to my feet again, watching him angrily as he stormed through to the bedroom, breathing heavily. Once he was locked out of sight, I sank down onto the sofa, panicking about Steven. I hoped that George would keep a cool enough head to get help.
I felt like a TV set. My vision switched back on, almost mechanically, but the view was out of focus, someone needed to change the channel. I had a feeling of weightlessness, I was being carried, and the blue sky above me was bumping up and down, as if my carrier was running. Unable to move my head, I relied on squinted, blurred glimpses, making out brown and red, blue, a pale white, and as I looked and noticed these things, I felt something squeeze my side. “Hold on! Please, please hold on!” Hold on to what? I didn’t understand. My vision dimmed slightly, and I shut my eyes again. Looking was too much effort.
