Chapter 25
On Friday, Sarah and I are put on emergency call. After a week of hard work, our new base is complete and we can begin our jobs again. We’ve set up our new emergency phone line and calls from the public are finally coming through again.
Someone rings us reporting that corrupt police have captured a group of families and they’ll soon be sent to execution.
It’s going to be a big mission, so we have to ask Starlet and Carl to help us out. However, when we get to the police station ready to perform a break out, we realise that there are no prisoners there and it’s all been a trap.
After we’ve been arrested by the armed police officers, we’re all handcuffed and thrown into one of the prison cells. I know it’s the wrong time to think of dirty thoughts but Starlet looks so sexy wearing handcuffs and I can’t help feeling excited.
Sarah is panicking, getting all worked up, and Carl is trying to keep us calm, saying he has pressed the emergency tracker so help will be on the way.
Starlet is looking sick and anxious, so I put my arms over and around her. It’s difficult while wearing handcuffs, but she fits inside my arms and snuggles into me. I get hard over holding her so close when we’re both in handcuffs, but I want to comfort her since she’s nervous.
“Don’t worry, help usually comes fast, especially when there’s more than one person at risk,” I say. “It’ll be okay Star, I promise.”
“What if we don’t make it?” she asks me quietly.
“The worst that can happen is we get taken to execution and even then there’s always a chance we can still escape. You’ll have more time to get away, Snider will be more determined to get rid of me and Carl.”
I try not to think of Starlet getting killed because I can’t bear it and it’s too painful. I just have to block it out and reassure myself determinedly that she will get away in time and be safe. However, the fear of it happening is still there and my heart pierces at the thought of it.
“That’s the worst part,” she replies tearfully. “I don’t want him to kill you Rickie.”
She looks heartbroken and terrified and I know she’s just as scared of losing me too. I don’t want her to be so upset and hurt and wish I could make it better.
“I know. I feel the same about you.” I gently kiss her forehead.
I don’t trust myself to kiss her lips. Even though things are bad right now, I’m still locked in a prison cell with my sexy girlfriend and I really want to make love to her, because it could be the last time we can. Unfortunately, I don’t know how we’ll manage that with both of us being handcuffed. Plus Carl and Sarah are in here with us too so there’s no way we can do it in front of them.
My thoughts of sex soon fade as we talk over what has happened, angry that Snider has tricked us.
“How did they get our new number?” I ask, thinking it over.
“Who knows? His spies or workers probably found it,” answers Carl.
“But if he has our phone number,” I say, feeling the anxiety rise inside me, “then that means he can track our new base.”
Soon after we’ve realised this, the police officers come back and take us out of the prison cell. We’re escorted into another room where our enemy, Snider, is waiting for us. He’s so pleased to finally catch me and Carl and looks excited for our execution.
“Should we send them to execution as well?” the police officer asks, indicating to Starlet and Sarah.
My heart stops as Lord Snider glances over at them, “Yes, I want all of them killed.”
“Shouldn’t we question them first?” asks Officer Vincent, but he sounds anxious as if he’s scared of interrupting him.
“Fine,” answers Lord Snider impatiently but his eyes have an evil glint as he looks back at me and Carl. “We’ve managed to find your rescue centres, even your old and new secret base.” I feel hit by the bad news.
“But there is one more location we would like to have,” he continues. “We want to know where your precious sanctuary is.”
I feel my heart stop beating. There’s no way we can tell him where it is or he’ll kill all the innocent children who are staying there for safety.
“We’d never tell you where it is,” answers Carl.
“And you’ll never find it,” I say.
“I’m sure we will. If we’ve cracked down on your other locations it will only be a matter of time,” Lord Snider replies.
“What if we offer you something in return for that information?” asks the police officer.
“We won’t be interested,” Carl tells him, annoyed.
“What about your two friends?” Officer Vincent asks eagerly, and I can tell he’s up to something. “Would you like them and all your other freedom fighters not to be taken to execution?”
“Of course we would, but we still can’t tell you anything,” answers Carl.
“Pity,” says Lord Snider. “Are these two your girlfriends?” Him and Officer Vincent snigger.
I feel myself blush a little, embarrassed that they’re joking about girlfriends and scared that they’ll figure out Starlet is mine. If they do she’ll be in even more danger and she’s in enough trouble already.
“It’s none of your business who they are,” Carl snaps, for my benefit.
I’m sure he’s trying to keep Starlet safe too and cover up who she is. I risk a quick one second glance at her, feeling worried, before looking away. However, Snider catches me doing it no matter how fast or cautious I was. He follows my earlier gaze towards Starlet and my heart stops with fear as I see him figure it out.
“How would you like to see your little girlfriend be executed, Rickie?” he taunts me, grinning evilly.
Chapter 26
I feel terrified, my heart beating so fast with fear I can hardly breathe. I’m desperate to protect Starlet and I know I can’t stand here and let him kill her.
“Leave her out of this,” I warn him. “It’s us you want, not her.”
“My offer stands. If you tell me the location I want, your girlfriend’s life will be spared and she can go free.”
“No way I’d trust you to keep that promise.”
“Unfortunately it’s the only way out of it. So are you going to tell me or let her die?”
I look over at Starlet again, my heart full of love for her. My worst nightmare is happening right in front of my eyes. My brother will be killed soon and now Snider’s trying to manipulate me by threatening my girlfriend’s life. I don’t know what to do.
Carl looks over at me worriedly, scared that I’m going to tell him.
Starlet looks upset and scared too, “don’t tell them,” she begs me quietly.
The seconds feel like hours and its torture. This is one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made. I know I need to do what’s right, but do I really have the strength to do it?
I look away from Starlet and back at Snider. My heart breaks as I finally say it, “I can’t tell you.”
I look down, feeling so much pain and sadness at thinking of Starlet and Carl being killed, but I had to do this to protect all those children.
“You’ll regret this,” Snider warns me, furious that he couldn’t use me to get what he wants. “Enjoy the execution.”
We’re forced outside and I feel terrified as I see the executioner holding an axe and knowing what’s about to happen. I try not to show my fear and stay brave, but I have no idea how I can bear Carl, Starlet or Sarah being executed.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper to Starlet, feeling really guilty that because of me she will be dead soon. “I wish I could have done more…”
It’s like my whole time with Starlet flashes before my eyes. The first day I saw her and knew I had to have her; our first date at the cinema; our first kiss before she became my girlfriend and I ended up falling madly in love with her; the night we finally made love and I became her first…
There’s a lot more amazing memories flashing through my mind too and I feel devastated that today it will
all be over.
“It’s fine,” she whispers back in answer. “You made the right choice.”
I know I did, there’s no way I could live it down if I was responsible for all the children’s deaths. However, it still doesn’t feel right because I’m losing the two of the most important people to me and that really doesn’t feel like the better option.
A crowd of people have started gathering to watch the execution and I can hardly breathe with being so anxious. I can’t believe I’m finally going to die and I’m only seventeen.
Carl is brought forward for execution first and I feel sick and upset. I’ve known Carl all my life, he’s the only family I have now and he’s also one of my best friends. I can’t bear to see him being taken away from me.
Before the executioner can bring down the axe on his head, I see some of our friends appear and suddenly everything happens in fast forward. The other freedom fighters attack and the executioner is shot with a sleeping dart. Carl quickly escapes from the police officers holding him and I feel relieved that he’s safe. Our friends use smoke bombs, which confuse the remaining guards, and we manage to escape without being seen or followed.
Once we’re out of there and back at one of our other smaller buildings, I look for Starlet. She must have run with one of the others and I’m anxious that she made it back safe, especially since the corrupt police are still out there looking.
I feel relief wash over me as I see her arrive through the door and she runs straight into my arms and hugs me tight.
I smile and hold her close, “I was gettin’ worried, I’m glad you’re safe.”
“I’m so happy you are too,” she says and looks up into his eyes. “I love you Rickie and I couldn’t bear it if you had been killed.”
“I know, I’d hate to lose you too,” I say, staring back into her eyes. “I love you too Star, you mean everythin’ to me.”
We share a long kiss and I feel so happy that we’re both still alive.
Chapter 27
While everyone is sleeping, Carl, Bryan and I have a meeting about Snider. Carl is freaking out for the first time ever.
“Bro, what should we do?” he asks me. “I can’t stand by and let Snider do all this. I have a team to keep safe and he nearly killed four of us today.”
“Quit worrying, we got away didn’t we?” I say, keeping chilled out because there’s no point being anxious about what could have happened.
“Yeah, but he’s destroyed two of our bases,” says Carl. “We need to do something.”
“The only thing we can do is fight back,” I answer.
“But how? I can’t turn this city into a war zone and I won’t let our team fight that way.”
“It doesn’t have to be like that,” says Bryan. “There are other ways of fighting. Think about it, how do you defeat an evil dictator?”
“Cutting off his supplies,” answers Carl, “but we all live in the same city and I don’t want other people to suffer just to get at him.”
“What about his buildings?” I ask. “He destroyed ours so why don’t we get payback?”
“I don’t know, Rickie,” says Bryan. “It sounds dangerous and if the police catch us its criminal damage.”
“It’s a good idea, but Bryan’s right,” says Carl. “It’s a huge risk to us and anyone around at the time.”
“We’d obviously do it when no one is in the building,” I say, “and we’ll bring it down so fast that the only thing the police will find is rubble.”
“How do we make sure the building is completely empty of people?” Carl asks.
“Give them a warning. They’ll empty a building in minutes if they know it’s going down.”
“What kind of warning?” Bryan asks nervously. “They could get the police involved.”
“A last minute one so the police don’t have time to stop us.”
“It’s still risky,” says Bryan. “We need other ways to stop the police from getting involved.”
“What? You mean blow up their police stations too?” I ask, joking.
“That would help,” Carl says, taking me seriously. “It will put a stop to Snider from bribing them if they’re no longer useful to him.”
“Whoa! So we’re attacking Snider and the police?” I ask in surprise.
“I suppose we have to. Evil dictators need followers, so how will he react once his troops are running away from his buildings and the corrupt police can’t help him either.”
I grin, “sounds like a plan.”
“We need to get it all organised properly,” says Bryan. “It’s a huge mission to pull off and it’s the biggest risk that we’ll ever take.”
Chapter 28
The next day we have another meeting to discuss our new plan and I can hardly stay awake. It was four in the morning when I finally got back to the base last night and I’ve only had three hours sleep. I feel like a total zombie as I walk in with everyone and sit down.
Starlet strokes my hair affectionately and smiles at me, making me feel a little better.
“How did it go?” she asks.
“Really well,” I answer sleepily and lie back on my chair, closing my eyes for a rest.
“Don’t worry, you can sleep once we’re out of this meeting,” I hear her say softly in my ear, but I’m already falling asleep.
I wake up with a start as Starlet nudges me and I see that Bryan is talking to everyone.
“…Rickie went on a mission at Snider’s base last night and hacked into Snider’s computer systems, so we now have access to all his data and information,” I hear him say.
Everyone starts to congratulate me and I smile in reply, half awake. Starlet gives me a grin, impressed.
“I’ve looked through the records and found the data with all his locations,” Bryan continues and shows a projected picture of a map with all the locations highlighted.
“Cool,” says Carl. “I bet Snider’s going to get a big surprise when he realises that all his buildings are destroyed tomorrow.”
“We definitely need to start our plan soon,” says Josh. “I heard that Snider is planning an attack on Twilight City tomorrow.”
It’s pretty weird having Josh back after he betrayed us. I never thought we would, but since he warned the others about Snider’s second raid and helped rescue us yesterday, we decided it was only fair to take him back and give him a second chance. Carl and I are keeping a close eye on him though, in case he messes up again.
“That means if we don’t do something he’s going to try and capture everyone who isn’t already on his side,” says Mick.
He’s sitting beside me and looks nervous.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be ready for tomorrow,” says Carl.
The next day everything is planned and ready. We work as a team, destroying the police stations, finding all of Snider’s buildings and blowing them up. The last to go down is his main headquarters and Snider throws a tantrum when he sees his precious building crumble in front of him.
Starlet and I even hear him talking on his mobile when he finds out that his other buildings have also been trashed and the police force he’s bribing can’t help him.
Snider knows he’s beaten and quickly goes into his private helicopter to do a runner. He’s obviously too much of a coward to face us anymore.
When we arrive back at our temporary base, a celebration has already begun as news of Lord Snider’s departure has spread. Sarah runs towards Starlet and gives her a hug, looking really happy.
“Did you hear about Snider?” she asks excitedly.
“Yeah, we just watched him leave,” Starlet giggles. “He was even throwing a tantrum.”
Carl laughs too. “Looks like he’s left for good and he’s taken some of his evil workers with him.”
“But what do we do now?” asks Sarah. “We’ve got rid of Snider so I suppose we don’t have a job as a freedom fighter anymore.”
“We need to reclaim Twilight City,” answers Carl. “Now that Snider is
no longer dominating we can return to the way things were all those years ago.”
“I bet your parents are gonna be so proud,” I say to Starlet. “Imagine us being the ones who got rid of Snider.”
“I know, I still can’t believe it,” she says happily, “and I really hope they are proud, if they really are watching over me.”
I smile and pull her close for a long kiss. We finally part from each other moments later and she gazes into my eyes. I feel lost in them and I love her so much.
I’m about to go for another kiss when Kat interrupts us.
“Carl! Rickie!” she says urgently. “There’s someone here to see you.”
Me and Carl exchange glances, wondering who it could be and why they want to see us.
“Who is it?” Carl asks her, a little suspiciously.
“Her name is Marlene, she says you both know her pretty well,” Kat explains.
That’s when I get the shock of my life.
Chapter 29
When I finally see her come towards us, I can hardly breathe. I can’t believe my mum is standing right in front of me, especially when we haven’t seen her for years. I’m still feeling stunned. She looks the same as when I last saw her. She’s tall and thin, with long black hair and brown eyes, just like me and Carl.
Her eyes fill with tears as she smiles at us, “Carl, Rickie, I’ve missed you both so much.”
She puts her arm around me and the other around Carl, hugging us both close. I hug her back, feeling my eyes water a little as I smell her familiar perfume.
“Mum, what are you doing here?” Carl asks her.
“I needed to see you both,” she says, wiping her tears away. “I’ve been looking for you both for years and I’ve missed you every second you’ve been gone.”
“We’ve missed you too, Mum,” I say and smile at her. “It’s awesome to see you.”
“Why did you run away all those years ago?” she asks us, looking upset and hurt, like she doesn’t understand at all.
Sexy Love Page 9
