To Sleep, PerCHANCE to Dream... by Cyndi V
Ugh. I couldn't remember the last time I had a hangover like this.
It's dark, but I knew the lights were on. Oh, that's right. My eyes were shut.
Okay, on the count of three, I decided to open them. 1...2...3. Oh, ow, ow, ow. That was a bad idea.
Guess I made it back to my apartment. That must have been some party last night. I didn't even remember where I was. I knew I was supposed to meet Tex for dinner, but I couldn't remember anything after that.
Oh, god. Tex.
Suddenly I remembered everything. We just finished dinner and then we had some care trouble so we caught a ride with a stranger. Tex was in the back whining nearly the entire way. Then...it was hazy...but...the guy shot me! I reached for my neck and I could feel a huge lump. Ooo. It was tender.
Then what? I musta passed out after that. I could remember hearing a second shot before everything went black. So they shot Tex.
And then they brought me back to my apartment? It didn't make any sense. And I wasn't in the right frame of mind to do any serious thinking.
I stumbled toward my coffee pot. Aw, the power of java. As the machine began to perform its magic through a series of entertaining bubble noises, I searched through my cupboards for anything to get rid of the coffee taste. At last, I found a little French Vanilla creamer. The day was starting off on the right foot.
Within fifteen minutes the caffeine was connecting with my neurons and I was ready to sort things out. So some big powerful agency had Tex. It wasn't surprising, apparently he had managed to piss off a lot of dangerous people while he was out being Mr. Do-Gooder. I guess they didn't need me, seeing as how I was alive and well in my own little apartment with just a welt on my neck. But what did they need with Tex? And who were they?
I had a lot of questions to answer and no clue on how to start.
Suddenly, an awful thought gripped my already-weak stomach. What if Tex was already dead? He was still alive in the speeder because the driver shot him with the same thing he shot me with, a tranquilizer dart. So wherever Tex was, they needed to take him there alive. That meant I still had a shot to get him back.
How dare they take him away from me? I was getting older, and it wasn't like I had guys lined up around the block. I finally started to take interest in what seemed to be a genuinely nice guy, even though he had a slight tendancy to be a dumbass on occasion, and some Big Brother organization had the balls to take him away from me. Well, I was not going to let them. Tex was not going to become another sob story in my history of men. I cared about him way too much, probably more than I should have. I resolved to get him back, no matter the cost.
No matter the cost. That made me think. This group was powerful, organized, and dangerous. The cost could be pretty big. Challenging a group like this could mean the death of myself and others, Tex included. Maybe even worse than death--a group like this one could manage to come up with something. After some consideration, I decided what I already knew.
He's coming home, because he's mine. No matter the cost.
I hurried and got ready, and then I checked the mirror. I looked presentable, with the exception of the mark. Well, nothing a scarf couldn't cover.
After a thought, I checked my vidphone messages. I only had two, one was a message from Tex saying he was running late for our date and he would be over as soon as he could. It was dated two days ago. I must have been out for a while. The other was from my deadbeat brother Chance. He said he had something important he needed to discuss with me and to call him as soon as I could. Well, sorry Chance, I had some more important things to attend to.
I grabbed the keys to my speeder and headed out the door. Where should I start?
Tex's office sounded like a good idea. I still had his keys; he made me keep a copy because of all the times he had locked himself out. Maybe I'd find something there that would lead me on the right track. (If you agree, move on to part 2.)
Or I could hit the Brew & Stew before I do anything else; I could really go for a bite to eat. (If this choice is better, move on to part 3.)