Perfect Sacrifice (32 page)

Leon continued to walk silently through the alleyway.  He was preparing in his mind what he would say to Ray when he found her.  He was hoping that she had cooled down by now.  He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the second set of footsteps.  Someone was following him.

He soon reached a small intersection.  One path lead to a dead end, another led to more alleys, and the third led onto the streets.  He was about to head for the one that would lead him to the streets when someone bumped into him from behind.  He was startled to say the least.  He was expecting to see Chris, but when he turned around, he came face to face with a pair of icy blue eyes.

"My apologies," said the man in a low, slightly impassive voice.  "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"That's alright," said Leon as he began to calm down.  However, for some reason this guy's voice was familiar.  The man gave him a smug looking smile while pushing his silver hair behind his ear.

"Do you know where the police station is?" he questioned.  Leon had to think for a moment.  He was used to being in Torran, but that didn't mean he knew where all of the buildings were.

"I know where it is, but…I'd have to show you," he said.

"That's alright," assured the man, his smile forming into a smirk.

"By the way, my name's Leon," he introduced.  There was a glint in the man's eyes as he responded.

"My name is Ramirez," he said with an icy grin.  Leon's eyes widened, the voice finally fitting the name.  He was quickly overwhelmed with fear as he began backing away towards the dead end.

"You can't be…" he whispered out of pure terror.  He began to panic, knowing full well what this could mean. 

Ramirez began to walk towards him, going rather slowly.  Why hadn't he noticed earlier that this man was familiar, not to mention suspicious?  His clothing was like that of a general.  How could he have missed it?

"Dad, Chris!" he shouted in hopes of getting their attention or even some else's.  "Help!"  Before he could call out again, Ramirez ran towards him. 

He was quick, faster than Leon could comprehend.  Before he knew it, Ramirez had clamped a hand around his throat, now proceeding to lift him off the ground.  Leon struggled to find his voice to call out for help, but not a word would escape his throat.  Unfortunately, no air would enter it either.

"It's nice to see you again, Leon," said Ramirez with a smirk.  "I guess you can't say the same."  He loosened his grip.  "Now, tell me where she is."

"Where who is?" he rasped out, resulting in a hard squeeze of his throat.

"The ace knight," demanded Ramirez.  "Where is she?  Where is Rayla Cayden?"

"I don't know," he answered, and Ramirez squeezed harder, causing Leon to gasp for air that wasn't coming.

"Don't play dumb!" he snapped harshly, his ice blue eyes alight with a fierce fire.  "Tell me where she is!"

"Leon!" shouted a voice from behind Ramirez.  The silver haired man turned to see Dr. Solaris and Chris standing in the alleyway.  Chris looked panicked while Dr. Solaris glared at Ramirez.

"Dr. Solaris," began Ramirez with a smirk.  "It's nice to see you again."

"Let him go Ramirez," demanded David Solaris, his eyes as cold as ice.  He glanced to his struggling son, knowing that Leon was in a great deal of pain right now.

"Then tell me where Rayla is," he demanded.  "Maybe then I'll let him go."

"We don't know," he said honestly.  "The last time we saw her was yesterday during the battle."

"You're lying," he stated angrily.  "I know you are.  I want an answer, or I won't hesitate to kill your son."  He tightened his hold on Leon to emphasize his point.  Dr. Solaris cursed under his breath, seeing no way out of this.  They had no idea where Ray was.  If they didn't say something, he would kill Leon.  He would probably kill him anyway though.  Either way, they were going to lose.

"I told you," began a distant yet familiar voice.  "It's this way.  Look, just meet me up ahead, alright?"  Ramirez looked to the street across the alleyway, and so did Dr. Solaris and Chris.  Leon managed to keep his eyes in focus, and what he saw racked his mind with worry.  Passing by the alley entrance was none other than Ray.

"The ace knight," whispered Ramirez, drawing Leon's attention.  Before he knew it, Ramirez had dropped him to the ground, taking off at a sprint towards the street entrance.

"Leon, are you alright?" asked Chris, but Leon was already getting to his feet.  He streaked off after Ramirez, not caring that his vision was a little blurry.  His head was pounding, but he had more important things to take care of.

Ramirez ran onto the street, and Leon got there not long after.  He stopped dead in his tracks as he watched Ramirez whip out a black pistol, his finger already on the trigger.

"Ray!" Leon shouted, praying to catch her attention in time.  "Run!"  Ray turned around just in time to see Ramirez standing in front of Leon, a pistol in his hand.  Ray's eyes widened, and she quickly turned the corner just as he pulled the trigger.  After muttering a curse, he broke off into a sprint after her.

By this time, Dr. Solaris and Chris had arrived on the street.  They watched as Ramirez turned the corner, running after a fleeing Ray.

"Let's go," said Leon as he broke into a sprint, followed closely by his father and brother.  They had to catch up to them in hopes of helping Ray.  But what could they do against Ramirez?

* * * *

Brian was standing on the side of the sidewalk, watching and waiting for Ray.  She had said she'd meet him there, so he had nothing better to do than wait.  He put his hands in his pockets as he kicked at a small stone impatiently.  He looked up after a while to see Ray flying down the street.

"Hey Ray," he greeted with a smile, but she went right past him.  He turned to watch her run just as another figure passed him.  This one explained it all.  "Ramirez," he whispered in slight shock.  The next group of people he knew as the Solaris family.  By this point, he couldn't take it anymore.  He broke off into a sprint, following after them.

Brian eventually caught up with Dr. Solaris, Leon, and Chris.  He had a few questions to ask them.  This was all happening too fast for his tastes.

"What's going on?" he asked, drawing Dr. Solaris's attention.

"Ramirez is trying to kill Ray," he explained.  Brian scowled deeply at the thought.

"What else is new?" he mumbled bitterly.  "We need to pick up our pace."

"Those two are too fast," stated Chris as his legs began to hurt.

"Then I'm going on ahead, alright?" he said as he pulled away from them, picking up his pace.  Leon was impressed at how fast he was going.

"Wow," he said.  "The knights must be in pretty good shape."

"They have to be," stated Dr. Solaris.  "Especially for situations like this."  Leon returned his focus to the task set before him.  When a few gun shots echoed down the street, he couldn't help but wonder if Ray was alright.

* * * *

Ray ran down the sidewalk as fast as she could, dodging people, mailboxes, bus stop benches, and whatever else happened to litter the area.  She had to keep ahead of Ramirez.  The fact that he was now shooting at her didn't make this predicament any better.  They were approaching a corner, so she quickly opened her backpack, pulling out a pair of her skates.  Just like before, she timed the way she would step and threw them down.  In two quick steps, she was on her skates, now picking up speed.

From behind her, Ramirez cursed under his breath.  Not only was she pulling away from him, he only had one bullet left.  This one was definitely going to hit.  He didn't care who anymore.  It was
going
to hit someone.  He'd make sure of it.

Up ahead of him, Ray turned the corner.  He'd approach it soon enough, but he was unaware of the person behind him who was slowly closing in.  His mind was too focused on Ray.

The second he turned the corner, he stopped running, positioning his pistol so that he'd hit Ray for sure.  He wasn't going to miss again.  However, Brian turned the corner, stopping directly behind him.

"Ray!" he shouted in warning.  "Look out!"  Ramirez glowered, sick of these distractions.  He was going to kill someone.  Instead of firing his pistol, he spun around and watched as the terror washed through Brian's eyes.  Without so much as a word, he pulled the trigger.

Everything seemed to stop in that one moment.  Ray froze dead in her tracks, turning to watch the scene unfold behind her.  She watched as Brian's eyes widened in extreme pain.  He didn't scream or anything as the bullet tore through him.

"Brian!" she screamed as she began to head back towards him.

Ramirez lowered his gun and watched as Brian fell back, hitting the pavement.  It was at that time that the Solaris family arrived.  Ramirez only smirked as he looked back at Ray.  Before she reached the area, he broke off into a run, heading across the street and disappearing down an alleyway.

"Brian!" shouted Dr. Solaris in worry as he got down next to the blonde.  Blood was beginning to soak into his already dark clothing.  The bullet had hit him in the stomach.  His body trembled from the pain as the simple act of breathing became very difficult.  It was then that Ray reached him.  She quickly got down on her knees next to her fellow knight and friend.

"Brian?" she questioned in worry, drawing his attention.  His eyes were wide with fear, and it pained her to see him like that.  She quickly removed her blue jacket and placed it over the wound to try and stop the blood from flowing as quickly.  Dr. Solaris quickly stepped in and began pressing down as well.  He looked up and met Ray's worried eyes.

"Call an ambulance," he demanded.  "You're the only one who can right now."  Ray nodded, letting go of her jacket.  She quickly used her communicator to dial 911, saying that it was an emergency.  She mentioned her name, and they said they'd send an ambulance right away.

Ray shut her communicator and looked to Brian.  His eyes were starting to close.  Ray's began to fill with tears.

"Brian, please hold on," she begged desperately.  The Solaris family remained quiet, watching and waiting for the ambulance.

"Ray, I…I-I'm…" he began, his voice shaking with each word.

"Don't say anything," she said softly.  "Just focus on staying awake, okay?"  However, even as she spoke these words, his eyes were closing.  He just couldn't keep them open anymore.  The calming numbness of unconsciousness was tempting his mind and body, and despite how much Ray was pleading, he couldn't fight it.

"Brian!" she shouted, but her voice was nothing more than one faded whisper amongst the silence.

CHAPTER 16

Decision

Ray sat in an almost empty waiting room, the only other occupants being the members of the Solaris family.  All of them sat quietly, not wanting to break the delicate silence that had settled amongst them.  They were currently in Torran's hospital, the same place that Ray had been about a month ago.  After the encounter with Ramirez, they rushed Brian to the hospital.  He was barely still alive, and the doctors were now working on him nonstop.  It had been over an hour now.  They hadn't received any news yet.

The door opened near the main desk, and two people walked through.  Ray raised her head and looked to see Abby and Gordan walk into the hospital.  Ray stood up and began to slowly walk towards them, a grim expression upon her usually vivid face.

"Abby," she called softly, catching her attention.  Both Gordan and Abby responded, and they walked over to her.

"Hey Ray," she greeted in the same tone, hugging her friend tightly.  It was obvious that this whole incident had really shaken Ray, but she had yet to shed a single tear.  Most would have cried by now but not her.  If anything, she was fighting them back.

Abby and Ray pulled away from each other, and Gordan put a hand on each of their shoulders.  It was easy to tell that this was hard on him as well.  The strong general of the GRC now resembled a worried father.  He more or less was one.  He sure acted like it anyway.

"Any news?" he asked Ray softly, gently.  She only shook her head.  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.  "It'll be alright," he told her.  "I'm sure Brian can pull through."  Ray nodded, but she didn't seem convinced, not in the least.

The three of them walked over to the chairs, taking their seats.  The silence settled in again as they all sat there, waiting.  Ray was currently sitting next to Leon.  It was easy to assume that she had forgotten their argument after this.  She didn't seem to mind him being there at all.  Then again, this really wasn't the time to be letting a past argument get in the way.  There was a life on the line here.