“What!? What am I looking at!?” Dessa said after Bear’s sudden outburst.
“He’s bleeding!” Bear called out his finger aimed at the spot on Chance’s neck that was oozing blood.
“I can see that Bear. I stabbed him. There is going to be blood.” Dessa said looking at Bear as if he had lost his mind.
Bear rolled his eyes and kneeled next to the clueless female assassin. He pointed to Chance’s neck once more and then said “Yes but he is still bleeding. If his heart had stopped he wouldn’t be bleeding this much! It would have started to settle and there would be none seeping from his wounds.”
Dessa’s mouth dropped open and looked from bear’s smiling face back down to her lover. It was too good to be true, there was no way Chance could have survived the attack, she had severed his jugular and a sword through the heart usually is a major cause of death. It couldn’t be possible, but then again she had come to see some amazing things since she had come back into Chance’s life.
As the two of them watched; the wounds that were on Chance’s neck slowly sealed up. Not only had it stopped bleeding but the area seemed as if it had never even been cut. The same effect had happened over Chance’s chest. The wounds just disappeared as if by a magic spell. It was truly strange to watch, was the skin seemed to just reconnect itself flawlessly without leaving as much as a scar to even say that there had been a gash there at all.
“Well I’ll be damned!” Bear said with a tremor of excitement in his voice.
The slightest intake of breath sent the assassin’s lungs into motion, pushing against his ribcage and expanding taking in the nourishing oxygen that he would need to feed his blood and brain. Dessa could only watch in stunned silence as she watched her former mentor begin to breathe again, his steady slow rhythm reminding her of a sleeping child more than the killer that was prone in her arms.
“He’s breathing! Bear he is actually breathing!” Dessa said as moisture filled the rims of her eyes and slowly starting to fall over her cheeks.
As if by divine providence Chance’s eyes slowly opened. It wasn’t a quick snap of a startled child or the alert caution of a predator, it was languid and slow. As if he was slowly waking up from some deep sleep and trying to focus on the world around him. Even though she couldn’t see his pupils, Dessa knew he was focusing on her.
She felt a well of relief fill her chest; a warmth that filled her every pore. Not only would she not have to tell Alpha that she had killed a Chimera, but her lover and savior was alive! She gasped loudly and held Chance’s head to her chest, allowing him to rest comfortably near her pounding heart as if it were a silent assurance that she was happy he was alive.
Bear let out a long whistle and ran his fingers through his hair. He had only been around Chance and Dessa for a few short days, and he could tell that he hadn’t seen the limits to how they could amaze him. He felt the hood of the car press against his thighs and he saw it as a good sign to sit down. His knees were weak and he could feel the blood draining from his head so he was glad for the fact he had found the car without even trying.
“Dessa.” Chance said weakly, his voice cracking as he spoke the single word.
“Yeah?” Dessa replied sniffling.
“Did you really have to stab me?”
A laugh broke through the hiccoughs that filled Dessa’s chest. She was speechless as to what to say to such a simple question. Her eyes shut tight as the tears fell freely once again, her arms wrapping completely around Chance’s head and holding him firmly to her bosom. She showed no signs of letting him up or letting him go any time soon.
“I have seen everything now. It seems that the prophesized messiah has come twice.” Bear said to himself as he took in the whole scene.
No sooner had Bear said that did the blasts of hundreds of car horns echo and blare from the freeway. The people that had slowed to an almost frozen position on the road seemed to have been watching the whole thing. As Bear turned to see the motorists he could see everyone cheering from within their vehicles. Women were wiping their eyes, men were shaking their fists in the air and children seemed to be clapping. It was truly a surreal scene if he had ever seen one. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what the voyeurs were thinking. They had just seen a fight, followed by a brutal stabbing and then a miraculous recovery. He hoped they would think they were watching the filming of a movie and left it at that.
“It seems the fans approve.” Chance said calmly.
Dessa didn’t seem to even know that there were people watching them at that moment and held Chance even closer to her. She didn’t want to think of what had just transpired or the repercussions that would surely come from it.
“Uh Dessa?” Chance said as he tried to sit up. “I’d like to get up now.”
Dessa nodded and let Chance free from her death grip and let him start to get up. She looked up to Bear and then at her former mentor but refused to look him in the eye. She looked anywhere but into his eyes, those black pools of endless darkness that seemed to be able to stare into her soul and rip her secrets from her lips.
Bear, in seeing Dessa wasn’t going to offer any help, offered Chance a hand to help him to his feet. Both men nodded to each other and then Chance began to dust himself off.
“If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I would have never believed something like that was even possible.” Bear said still quite amazed.
“Me either.” Chance said brushing his hand over his forearm. “It was the strangest feeling. I could still hear everything, but I couldn’t move or even breathe. I have never been in a coma but I am assuming that is what it is like.”
Dessa’s head snapped up, he face was a mask of shock and horror. She had mentioned Alpha; she had given herself away because she believed Chance was dead. Bear had already known and there was no need to continue to hide it from him, but Chance had no clue, well at least he didn’t up until she had mentioned the Grendel leader.
“So Anthony huh?” Bear said with a smirk.
“Yeah? And?” Chance answered back, his gaze never leaving Dessa’s shocked face.
“Well it is just so normal. Everything about you is so out there to hear you have such a normal middle name is… shocking.” Bear chuckled.
“You… you could hear everything?” Dessa spoke barely above a whisper breaking the small moment the two men were having.
“Yes Dessa, I heard you say something very interesting.” Chance said coolly.
“You did?” Dessa gulped.
“Grendel.”
Dessa scrambled to her feet and looked Chance directly in the eyes, she couldn’t see past the black and it suddenly scared her. Ever since she was first with this man, this Chimera, she had been able to see past those lifeless pools of black. She could see life in them and emotion. She could see what all the others never got the chance to ever see. She wished that she could see that now, but instead the only thing that was looking at her now seemed to be death.
“ChanceIcanexplain!” Dessa said quickly without giving the assassin a moment to interrupt.
Chance would have nothing of it though and stepped forward. He stared hard at Dessa, allowing his gaze to bare down on his former pupil, one of the only women he had ever felt anything for. He could see rage again and could feel Suicide stirring once more. He knew he needed to calm down but the betrayal he felt rivaled that of Dessa’s after finding out that he had killed her parents.
“Explain!? Explain what? That you’ve been keeping tabs on me for Alpha and the rest of the Grendels? That you have been lying to me this whole time?”
Dessa’s mouth dropped open and she could have sworn it touched the ground. She couldn’t believe that he could sink that low and scrape the bottom of the barrel for that excuse. How could he pull the “You lied to me card” after what they just went through. She felt her fists ball up and step forward. She didn’t want to continue the fight they had just been a part of, but if she had to she would. Chance could heal, and apparently heal from life threatening injuries, so she couldn’t kill him but she would make him suffer with each blow.
“Now hold on here!” Bear called out, pushing his enormous frame in between the two killers that appeared as if they hadn’t gotten enough of the fight before. “Before we get this started all over again.” he turned to look at Chance and placed a calming hand on his shoulder. “Hear her out.”
As those dark orbs looked up into Bear’s eyes he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up on end. He could see a small notion of betrayal fall behind them as the assassin’s features screwed up in anger.
“You knew!” Chance accused stepping back.
“I walked in on her talking to Alpha on the phone, yes. She asked me to keep it a secret until she could tell you herself.” Bear said holding his hand out patting the air trying to calm the filibuster situation.
Chance leaned to the side to look at Dessa who he could plainly see chewing on her bottom lip. “You could have just told me.”
“When Chance? While we were planning our escape from the police? Or when you were ignoring me on the way to Montana to see that stupid scientist? Maybe when you took it upon yourself to kill Cappa? When have I had time? It isn’t as simple as saying ‘Hey baby, I know you love me and all, but I am a Grendel now so we can’t be together anymore.’ is it? Alpha wanted me to remain as a silent informant, someone that could guide you to him.” Dessa said pushing past Bear to take Chances face in her hands. Her pale fingers a dramatic contrast to the scarred skin of his cheeks.
“Guide me to him?” the Chimera asked as he looked into Dessa’s honest eyes. He knew she was telling the truth but it was still hard to believe that she had been keeping something like this a secret for so long.
“Dessa, why should I go to this guy? He ransacked my apartment, took Kain away from me only to find out that all he did was lock him up, turned you into what they are, and to top it all off he made you keep tabs on me and report them back to him. How is that trustworthy?” Chance rationalized grabbing her hands and gently pulling them away from his face.
“Because…” her eyes closed and Chance could see she was struggling to find the right words to explain. “Because Alpha wants to protect you.”
Chance’s eyes widened and Bear turned to look at Dessa as well. The statement was so incredulous that they both couldn’t believe what they had just heard.
“What?” Chance was the first to get the ability to speak again.
“When he and I spoke he told me that all he wanted to do was to get you to him safely. He couldn’t directly interfere but that you would be the safest with him. He wouldn’t tell me much more after that. After I found out you were looking for Bernard here, I figured I could get you both to him and that would be that.”
“So that makes you what?” Chance mumbled astonished at the revelation.
“I guess that would make me your handler. We aren’t the bad guys here Chance.”
“A handler? Like CIA covert ops contact?” Bear asked suddenly a bit more involved in the conversation.
“My handler… is that all you are now?” Chance stepped back and dropped Dessa’s hands. He could barely look at her now and his heart was pounding. Suicide had long been forgotten but Chance could feel him scratching at him. Any sign of frustration or anger and he would pounce and Chance knew it.
“I thought you were Dessa Kelly. An assassin, a trained killer, a cold blooded murderess, my equal, my companion, and the woman I…” his voice trailed off as he turned to look at the spectators that still seemed to be watching them.
“It’s not that simple anymore Chance.” Dessa’s eyes began to water again as she desperately wanted to hear the final words that Chance let die off. She wanted to hear him say what she knew in her heart was true. She wanted to hear Chance tell her that he loved her.
“How long?” the Chimera asked sounding as if he were defeated. “How long have you been a Grendel Dessa?”
Chance turned to look at the fiery redhead and Dessa had to hold back a gasp. She could see moisture building around his eyes. It was the first sign of emotion she had ever truly seen from the killer. He usually held a stoic and overly calm demeanor when dealing with situations like this but she could see that pain in his eyes, see the hurt in his tears.
“Just after Kain had stabbed me.” Dessa spoke softly, afraid that she would break the tension between them and they would be fighting again.
Chance was more than a little shocked and he knew that his façade was fading fast. The feelings he was having had never been an issue before, but now for some reason they seemed to be taking over his every thought. Dessa had betrayed him just as he had betrayed her; history seemed to have repeated itself. He didn’t want these emotions and as he felt something warm fall from his cheek did he finally realize what was going on.
He lifted his fingers to his face and wiped the tear from off his chin and looked at his hand as if this was the first time he had ever seen a tear before. It was foreign to him and had been for a long time. Chance wondered quietly when the last time he had actually cried was. Had it been when he had his ribs broken at school? Or was it when he realized that his mother was never going to speak to him ever again? He didn’t know and he didn’t want to know.
“Chance?” Dessa reached out for him but Bear grabbed her hand.
“Let him do this on his own. No one can live behind a wall of stoicism forever.” Bear comfortingly announced. He could tell that there was something going on within the assassin’s mind but he wasn’t going to dare interrupt the inner turmoil that was brewing within the killer’s mind.
As Chance’s chin lifted after he had wiped the tear away and the thoughts of his past had been forgotten, he was drawn back to the scene in front of him. He didn’t know what to do in this situation and it was definitely something he hadn’t planned, he could have figured out exactly what he needed to do if he was on his own but now he had Dessa and Bear. Two people that understood the situation almost as well as he did. He would just have to trust Dessa’s judgment about Alpha.
A soft clapping echoed in the distance and slowly grew louder. The sound was growing louder and as the three companions looked around they could tell that is wasn’t caused by the many cars and voyeurs that had stopped to watch their little display. Bear was the first to look into the blue sky and see the source of the noise. Soon after, Dessa and Chance both do the same and see the helicopter drawing ever closer.
“Friend of yours?” Bear asked Dessa coyly.
“No. I haven’t talked to Alpha since before we left.”
Chance narrowed his eyes and let his vision focus on the helicopter. He could feel his muscles straining within his head as the number on the side of the copter suddenly became clearer, as if he had just looked through a telescope.
“News chopper.” he said flatly. “Reporting on the traffic. We need to get out of here.”
“What? Why?” Bear asked looking at Dessa who was already grabbing Bear’s helmet off the hood of the car.
“Simple, they have cameras on those things, and I am pretty sure that our faces have been plastered all over the news. Nationally and locally. They see us and not only will the cops know where to find us, but so will General Tyler and Chief Oronoz.”
“Exactly.” Dessa said pushing the motorcycle helmet into Bear’s chest.
Bear gave her a plaintive look but quickly pushed the helmet back onto his head and strapped it on. He didn’t even have to guess that Chance was already in the car as the both doors slammed shut and the engine roared to life. He quickly moved to his bike and started it. He looked at the long line of cars and wondered just how on earth they were going to get away from a helicopter.
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