Chapter
27: Declaration of an Affirmation
Van heard
the cry and stopped what he was doing to crane his neck at the intruder. His
eyes grew as large as saucers when he realized Billie was staring at them in
shock and disbelief. He didn’t see Sara sit up, and as he moved slightly to
his left, she accidentally pushed him off balance and he fell to the carpeted
floor with a hard thud, his head slamming against the nightstand. Van lay there
for a couple of seconds, disoriented, then quickly felt around until he found
something to cover himself with… a discarded pillow.
Deaq had
run into the room a few seconds later, quickly looking away when he saw Sara
gathering the bed sheets around her body to cover herself as she stared at
everyone in shock and horror.
“I
can’t believe this!” Billie was yelling. “I’d expect this kind of thing
from Van, but Sara? You should have known better! What the hell were you
thinking?”
Sara was
still too shaken and shocked to speak, but Van quickly picked up the slack as he
answered, “Can it, Billie!”
“Was I
talking to you?” she shot back, glaring at him, the venom in her voice
startling him. “I’ll get to you in a second, so keep your mouth shut.”
“No,”
Van calmly defied her. “Leave Sara be. This isn’t her fault. If anything, it
was mine.”
“Oh, my
God! Van Ray is actually taking responsibility for his actions? I don’t
believe it,” Billie retorted, her voice heavy with sarcasm. “But it takes
two to tango, so she’s just as responsible as you are.”
“Who
says?” Van replied. “What if we got drunk last night and didn’t know what
we were doing?”
“Somehow,
I would believe that, but seeing no empty beer bottles anywhere in this place, I
highly doubt it.”
“That
doesn’t mean we couldn’t have gone to a bar or club.”
“Van,
quit covering before I do something to make you shut up,” Billie ordered
harshly.
“What
will you do to me?” he challenged.
“This,”
she answered, walking over to him calmly and raising the butt of her gun,
getting ready to hit him with it.
“STOP!”
Sara finally yelled, the Witchblade almost swirling into action. She had to
force it to keep from changing its form. Van, Billie, and Deaq all looked at her
in amazement. “I’m taking half of the responsibility. And Van, don’t try
to stop me. They might as well hear it. I’ve fallen for him, hard, and he’s
fallen for me. I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but I love him. It may be
a little hard to believe that I can say that after knowing him for such a short
amount of time, but it’s happened before.”
“So you
love him?” Deaq asked, not all that surprised considering the way they had
been acting for the last few days. “Van, do you love her?”
All eyes
were on Van as he replied, “Yes.”
“Oh,
God…” Billie gasped. “Are… you… out… of… your… mind?” she
added, tapping him on the head with the butt of her gun after each word.
“Ow! Ow!
Ow! Stop,” Van growled, putting his hands over his head to protect himself.
“I haven’t lost my mind. Maybe if you found yourself a boyfriend, you’d
see my side of this.” He looked up to see the fire in her eyes had
intensified. Seconds later, he felt something hit his head and was knocked out.
“Billie!”
Deaq yelled from behind her as she watched Van slump over. She glared at him, a
warning that she wasn’t afraid to hit him either, and he backed off.
“I want
all of you in my office in one hour!” Billie roared, storming out of the room.
Sara slid
off the bed to her fallen comrade to assess the damage Billie had caused as Deaq
stayed at the door, unable to figure out what to do next. “What the hell are
you standing there for? Get me some ice!” Sara ordered as she gently raised
Van’s head into her lap. With Deaq gone, she found her shirt and panties, then
proceeded to put them on. She was at Van’s side when Deaq arrived with the
ice.
“I
can’t believe she did that,” he said, giving the pack to Sara.
She
slipped it onto the large welt on Van’s forehead and replied, “Me either…
I hope he’s okay.”
“Don’t
worry about him. He’s been through worse.”
Sara
gently stroked his cheek as she whispered, “Van, baby, I’m right here. Wake
up.” He simply groaned in pain. “That’s it, come on.” He opened his
misty blue eyes and stared up at her for a long time in confusion and
disorientation. Sara smiled at him, relieved he was finally awake.
“I’m
going to kill that bitch,” Van said slowly. He tried sitting up, but Sara kept
her hand on his chest.
“Don’t
move,” she commanded. Sara leaned down, her lips close to his ear, and
whispered, “You’re still naked.”
“Deaq,
could you please…” Van trailed off when he saw his partner take the hint.
“Thanks!”
“You’re
lucky I was around to remind you,” Sara replied as she stood up and began
looking for her clothes. She put them on quickly, not caring which way anything
went, and added, “The ‘bitch’ wants us in her office in an hour, well,
forty-five minutes considering you’ve been laying here for a while.”
Van was
going through his closet looking for something comfortable to wear that day as
he responded, “Wonderful. Please restrain me if I try to hit her. I really
don’t need to lose my job right now.”
“With my
luck, I’m probably going back to
“How
much longer?” Van questioned, his eyes locked on her back as she continued to
mess with her hair. He really didn’t want Sara leaving yet, especially after
everything they had been through.
“At
least a month,” she answered. “I’ll see if I can stay a little longer, but
seeing what happened today, I seriously doubt that Billie wants me around
anymore.”
“That’s
true,” he replied, a little hurt, but it was the truth. Van knew his boss’s
attitude towards those she despised. Billie would ignore them, lock them up, or
kill them. And that was the last thing he wanted to happen.
Van walked
over to Sara and wrapped his arms around her for a tight, reassuring embrace. He
felt so vulnerable, something he hated, but it was a feeling he couldn’t help.
“If Billie sends you back to
Sara
smiled, feeling a little better about the situation. She headed upstairs to her
apartment to change into a comfortable pair of jeans and a light blue tee shirt
with her favorite pair of black boots. Soon after, they were off to the
warehouse.
*~*~*
Van, Deaq,
and Sara made it to the Candy Store with less than a minute to spare. Billie was
already waiting for them in her office, a scowl on her face. Sara leaned over to
Van and whispered, “I’m never going to get back in her good graces, am I?”
He shook his head as they continued to advance on her.
“Sit
down,” Billie ordered calmly as she glared at each of them. With her eyes on
Sara and Van, she added, “What happened today between the two of you was
unacceptable. Van, I’ve warned you on several occasions not to make a move,
but you can’t seem to get that through your thick little head. Don’t you
remember what happened with Alexa?”
Sara looked over at Van, a very confused expression on her face. “Excuse me, but who’s Alexa?” she asked. She had looked through their fields, but not really that in depth. How could she have missed something like that in Van’s file, though?
“Deaq,
care to explain?” Billie shot a glance over at him.
‘Oh, so
it wasn’t Van,’ Sara thought. She looked over at Deaq and could see the
pained look in his dark eyes then wished she hadn’t asked. It was like talking
about Daniel. She waited patiently as Deaq explained. “Alexa was Billie’s
best friend. She was undercover as part of the Mighty Blue. We got a little too
close, so when we busted the gang, she broke cover and
“Now do
you see why I don’t want my men, or women, hooking up?” Billie almost yelled
at them. “Because shit like this happens! I should send you ass back to
“We had
help,” Sara quietly pointed out.
“Oh,
yeah, you’re mystery man. What was his name again?
“If you
want to meet him, he can be here within minutes,” Sara said.
“Why the
hell not?” Billie replied with a heavy sigh. “I am, after all, putting in a
commendation for him for helping us with this case. I might as well meet the
guy.”
“Great!”
Sara exclaimed as she whipped out her cell phone.
“But
this doesn’t mean I want to see you and Van together. That’s why from now
on, you’re working with Deaq. Everywhere he goes, you go, without Van. Got
it?” Billie stated, giving each of them a harsh look. The three nodded
silently.
Sara could
feel her heart sink to the floor as she gazed into Van’s icy blue eyes. He was
definitely pissed to the point where he wanted to hurt Billie, but he managed to
keep himself from saying or doing anything that could potentially get him in
trouble. Sara placed her hand over his, pleading with him to stay calm for a
little while longer. It was then that she also realized someone was trying to
get her attention.
“Sara?”
Ian asked once he picked up his phone.
“Oh…
S-s-sorry,” Sara stuttered as she focused on her phone conversation. “Could
you come to the Candy Store right now? Billie came back early and wants to meet
you.”
“Are you
alright?” he replied, sensing the tension and fear in her voice.
“I’ll
talk to you about that later. Just come, please,” she almost begged, her eyes
fighting to hold back the tears she was ready to shed when the weight of the
situation finally hit her. She was going to lose Van.
“Alright,”
Ian softly answered as he hung up.
Sara put
her phone back in her pocket and looked over at Billie, who wouldn’t stop
glaring at her. “So, why are we here?” she asked, her hand never straying
from Van’s.
“While I
was in
“Her
name is Lin Yao, and she’s one dangerous woman,” Billie continued.
“She’s been in prison several times for assault, prostitution, and drug
possession. The murders started the day she began working at the club. Sara,
your job is to get close to her, become her friend. Once she has your trust, and
you have hers, I want you to ask her to help you pull a job.” Billie paused to
look at Van and Deaq. “You two are the targets. Your attitudes are to be the
worst in history; harassing girls, getting extremely drunk, and just being the
bad asses that you are.”
“But…”
Van started before she interrupted him.
“I
don’t want to hear a word from you. You’re either in, or I’m sending you
back to writing parking tickets for a living,” Billie hissed as she stood up
and stared down at him.
“Yes,
sir,” Van mumbled as he looked down at his shoes. He’d never been so afraid
of Billie in his life, and he hated it.
“Dismissed,”
she said with the wave of her hand. Van, Deaq, and Sara made a quick exit from
her office, congregating in the lounge to discuss what had just happened.
“I’ve
never seen her that pissed in my life,” Deaq said as he flopped down on the
couch. “Even after she found me and Alexa…” He stopped, figuring he had
said enough already.
“Getting
it on in her office,” Van finished for him with a smirk on his face. He sat
down on the opposite end of the couch with Sara separating them.
“So
that’s why she has such a stick up her ass about the two of us seeing each
other,” Sara surmised, the pieces finally falling into place.
“I hope
and pray that Ian can soften her up a little before you leave,” Van replied as
he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his chest so she was
lying on top of him.
“I hope
he gets here soon,” she said, snuggling into him. As soon as Sara finished her
sentence, she felt the Witchblade warm on her wrist and immediately flew up. She
quickly made her way to the door and opened it as soon as the black Escalade
pulled up. Once Ian was out of the car, she stumbled into his arms and started
crying. “You have to help me,” Sara begged. “Billie is on the warpath. She
found out about me and Van, and she separated us on our next case. She’s
really pissed at me, and I don’t know how to calm her down. Even the guys are
helpless against her. Please, help me.”
Sara stared up into his caramel brown eyes; her own filled with pleading as he gazed down at her. Ian smiled lightly then with his right hand, wiped the tears off her face. She smiled her thank you, and they continued on inside.