NEVER Talk To Strangers

~ 23 ~

"Dr Shuyona?" Mari asked hesitantly, getting a chill down her spine. She knew something bad had happened since Dr Shuyona was calling them. He shouldn't have the home phone number! "How did you get this number?" Budo's hands clenched into fists, wanting to see Dr Shuyona solely to punch him in the face with all his strength.
"It was easy." Dr Shuyona laughed darkly. "Just as easy as it was to... pick up, my old friend Dr Casey." She could head him smirking with pride. She nearly dropped the phone in pure shock and fear. Dr Shuyona has kidnapped Dr Casey!
"Y-you have my father?" She asked in pure shock. She'd never called Dr Casey her father or anything like that since it had never felt right by her. She still wasn't quite so comfortable with it, but she didn't want Dr Shuyona to know that.
"Ah, I see he's filled you in on your real relationship to him." He said, sounding slightly relieved. "I hope that means you'll be reasonable." Dr Shuyona had absolutely no clue Budo was listening in on their conversation. Mari took a deep breath to keep herself calm before speaking.
"What do you want from me?" She asked. It should be obvious to her, but it wasn't. She should've known what Dr Shuyona wanted from her since he'd been wanting it from the start from her.
"What do you think I want?" He asked, sounding somewhat annoyed. Budo looked down at her without a word, not knowing what to say. He felt like he too needed to ask what Dr Shuyona wanted, but he didn't know what to say specifically. "I want you to come back to me, where you belong." Dr Shuyona told her, sighing in frustration at her. Budo's eyes narrowed, wanting to laugh. No way was she going back to be his test subject for the rest of her life.
"I don't belong with you!" She snapped, handing the phone to Budo. If left in her hands much longer it would end up being thrown against the wall. Her answer only angered Dr Shuyona, although it made Budo quite happy.
"Enough!" Dr Shuyona shouted, causing Mari to flinch. It wasn't even that loud, but that angry tone in his voice caused her to flinch and somewhat panic. "You'll come back to me or I'll start sending Dr Casey back to you in pieces." Dr Shuyona threatened.
"He won't go through with that. Dr Casey is far too valuable to him." Budo said calmly to her, hoping Dr Shuyona couldn't hear him. It probably wasn't a good idea that he knew Budo could hear the call.
"Just try me." Dr Shuyona threatened, overhearing Budo. He frowned, wishing he hadn't said anything until the call had ended. Then again, she'd looked like she'd really needed the reassurance. "Be back at the hospital by midnight." He said threateningly to her.
"That's not enough time!" She gasped. She knew that even if they left now, they wouldn't make it to the hospital before midnight. Dr Shuyona laughed darkly, not caring at all.
"Then I suggest you drive fast." He told her, not wanting to change the deadline. He wanted her back as soon as possible so he could resume his experiments on her. He ended the call, making her frustrated.
"What are we gonna do? How are we gonna get Dr Casey back?" She fretted, beginning to pace back and forth. Budo sighed and put the phone away, knowing he needed to calm her down so she'd think rationally given the situation they were now in.
"It's okay, Mari. Calm down, we'll figure this out." Budo assured her, placing his hand on her cheek. She stopped pacing, looking up at him with her large red eyes. Budo could see the despair and panic in her eyes crystal clear.
"There's no time. We have to get in the car and go right now!" She told him. Although she'd stopped pacing, her feet were still moving. Almost like she was pacing on the spot. Budo shook his head, keeping his hands firmly on her shoulders to stop her from doing anything crazy.
"There's no way you're going to him. None." Budo told her firmly. He didn't want to lose her at all, and going back to Dr Shuyona was a death sentence.
"But he'll kill Frank!" She cried in absolute frustration. She wasn't thinking clearly in her panic. She seemed to forget that she'd never be able to have a relationship with Dr Casey if she went back to Dr Shuyona. She'd never have her freedom again if she went back.
"I promise I won't let that happen." He promised. She sighed, trying to calm herself down. After a few minutes, she could think clearly again. Suddenly, she had an idea.
"Taro! He could get us there!" She suggested brightly. Although she knew Budo and Taro couldn't stand each other, she'd need both their help to get Dr Casey away from Dr Shuyona. She called for him, not noticing Budo's reaction to her needing Taro's help.
"You called?" Taro asked, walking over to them. He had a very small smirk on his face, it was like that was his natural resting face. She smiled at him, showing her relief that he was here. He liked that quite a lot.
"We don't need his help..." Budo groaned. He didn't want Taro around, confident he and Mari could figure this out without him. Mari bit her lip. Right now, she needed all the help she could get to save Dr Casey before it was too late.
"Oh be quiet, we're planning a rescue," Taro said coldly to him. Budo was so tempted to punch him for disrespecting him, but he restrained himself. He had more important worries than giving Taro what he deserved. He could always do that later.
"Dr Shuyona has Dr Casey, and we need your help setting him free," Mari explained to Taro. She didn't question how Taro knew they were planning a rescue before she told him about the situation, but she had a few guesses.
"Anything for you sweetheart, so long as it doesn't expose our secret." He laughed a little. Budo narrowed his eyes at Taro, still hating how he called Mari sweetheart. He also hated that there was a secret between them.
"What is this secret you two keep going on about?" Budo asked in frustration. He didn't realise he'd distracted himself from the real issue, but neither had the other two. Mari looked up at Taro, desperate to tell Budo so he would at least know some extent of the truth.
"Can't we just tell him?" She asked quietly, twiddling her thumbs. Taro shook his head firmly, folding his arms. Budo was the last person Taro wanted knowing their secret, mostly because it was something he could hold above him forever.
"Absolutely not. It's a secret. Try and keep up, idiot." Taro told him coldly, looking down his nose at him. Budo made a low growl, raising his fists. He was ready for a fight now.
"Call me an idiot one more time and I'll-" he started before being cut off by a very annoyed and agitated Mari.
"Cut it out!" She shouted, getting the attention of both of them immediately. Budo's fists lowered instantly. "We really don't have time for this!" She said firmly. She was the youngest out of the three, but she was being the most mature at this moment. "Or... maybe we do." She retracted for a moment, shuffling her feet a little. Budo shook his head.
"No, you were right the first time. I need to get into the car now if I'm going to make it before the deadline." He said heroically. He knew where the hospital was, since he'd already broken her out once before, and he didn't want to risk her coming along incase she was captured and kept under such tight lock and key that he would never be able to save her again.
"Not alone you're not." She told him, getting in front of him so he couldn't leave without her. She wasn't letting him go alone so he could fight her battle for her. He sighed and looked up at Taro, actually needing him to agree with him for probably the only time in their lives.
"Taro, you agree with me, right? Mari has no business going back to Dr Shuyona's place." He stated, hoping Taro would agree with him. That was the only way he could be certain that she was out of harm's way.
"Depends. What's the plan?" Taro asked, shrugging his shoulders. He couldn't really agree or disagree until he knew exactly what they were both planning so he could make his judgement.
"We... umm... we don't have one," Mari admitted, looking down. She didn't like this feeling, but she had no control over it. She knew she'd need a plan as soon as possible so she could save Dr Casey without surrendering her freedom. "But... I was thinking if you could teleport us there-" she began to make a suggestion before being interrupted.
"He can teleport?" Budo asked in shock. She hadn't mentioned it before, but he could guess it wasn't part of the secret since she'd mentioned it in front of him.
"What happened to keeping secrets?" Taro asked Mari, narrowing his eyes at the petite redhead. Looked like Budo's guess had been wrong. She frowned, glancing down. She hadn't meant to reveal it like that.
"I'm sorry, but this is an emergency." Mari stuck up for herself. She hadn't meant to reveal a secret, but she was desperate at this point.
"Sorry sweetheart, can't help you," Taro said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders. It wasn't because he didn't want to help, because he did, but because he couldn't. "I have to have been there before to teleport. I have no idea where they're keeping him, I've never even been into the city before." Taro explained to her, knowing damn well she would ask if he didn't.
"It's not like we needed your help anyway. I've got this, I'll take care of it." Budo assured them, staring daggers at Taro. He really hated him.
"I'm coming with you," Mari told him confidently, adrenaline beginning to rush through her veins. She couldn't let him go alone. Budo laughed.
"Over my dead body." He told her firmly. She frowned, getting upset with Budo's distrust. She already knew he couldn't do it without her, but he was stubborn about rejecting that reality.
"I'm trying to keep you from having a dead body by coming along." She told him firmly. She didn't doubt Dr Shuyona would kill Dr Casey if Budo showed up alone, and that was something she was desperate to avoid at all costs. "I can take care of myself, I promise." She reassured him.
"No way. That's exactly what they want." Budo told her firmly. He was far too scared of losing her to allow her to help him, but he couldn't win alone.
"Don't you see? I need to end this." She told him. She knew she, and she alone was the only one who could end this with Dr Shuyona. She absolutely had to go with Budo. "I don't want to live my life in hiding. I'm tired of being on the run." She tried to reason with him.
"Well, I'm still not letting you come along," Budo told her. She groaned in frustration. She was tempted to use her mind control power to convince him to let her come along, but she decided against it. That wasn't in her nature.
"Fine, but can I at least ride with you so I can be closer to you?" She asked, trying a different method of getting her own way. Budo sighed and shook his head.
"I don't think that's a good idea." He told her. Although he would love her to come with him, he didn't think it was safe for her to do so incase someone kidnapped her from the car and imprisoned her in Dr Shuyona's care.
"What if something happened to Frank and I need to heal him? I don't want to be hours away" She asked worriedly. Although Taro could do that, she knew Budo was unlikely to ask him for any help.
"Okay fine, but there's no way you're going into the hospital." Budo finally relented, only because he didn't want Dr Casey to die. "I'll go bring the car." He said, leaving the room to go get the car.
"Are you coming too?" Mari asked Taro once Budo had left the room. She knew it would be helpful to have him there since he knew how to control his powers a whole lot better than she did. Of course, that would put him at risk of being a target too.
"Nah. I think you'll be fine." He told her. He was confident in her abilities, even if she wasn't. After all, she'd figured out the rest on her own. He'd only taught her how to make her thoughts unreadable to him. "Don't worry, you've got this." He reassured her, seeing the doubt in her eyes. He thought it was Budo not trusting her that was causing her to have doubt, and he wouldn't be too far from that truth.
"I sure hope so..." she murmured as he teleported out of sight. Gone, just like that. She sighed and headed outside to meet Budo, not wanting to keep him waiting. She didn't want to miss the deadline and risk any harm coming to Dr Casey.