FicWad

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Kenner and a bunch of animation studios. All I own is the situation, plot and backstory.

With many thanks to Ganeris, Nessa, Beth and Angel for editing, feedback and patient hand holding. Extra thanks to Jonath for specific help with one particular scene - I couldn't have done it without you; thank you!

What It Takes

Four

Once Hondo was sure that Buddy had safely crossed the yard and entered the building, he turned his attention to the insensate Rax. Can't leave you there, can't dump you in the river. He shook his head; he got the feeling that Buddy had a level of history with Rax that not even Matt was aware of. I can ask about it later, he decided. First things first; need to figure out what to do with him.

From Firecracker's cab, Hondo retrieved a roll of duct tape and used it to bind Rax's wrists together. Then he did the same to the biker's ankles. With those secured, and making sure that there was no sign of trouble in the building, he dragged the unconscious thug away from the scene. This whole area was riddled with alleys; surely there was one he could use to dispose of Rax for the duration.




Buddy's brain shorted out. The kiss was intense and he couldn't help but go with it. One of his hands found its way to her head and started to stroke her hair; the other smoothed down her back, pulling her in closer.

The kiss deepened as Vanessa sucked on his tongue, eliciting a deep groan from him. At the back of his mind, a small thought surfaced: This was wrong; this was his 'sister'. But it was also in character. He was supposed to be Rax, and Rax wouldn't be worrying about right or wrong; Rax would just be enjoying it.

Vanessa's hands stroked down his sides as the kiss continued. One hand insinuated itself between his shirt and the waistband of his jeans, pulling them even closer and sending a wave of heated arousal rushing through him. The other hand went to his face, fingertips just lightly stroking him. God but he wanted her, wrong or not.

As she nipped at his lip, he growled and turned them, so that it was Vanessa whose back was pressed up against the wall. His turn. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, swirling it around her tongue and teeth until Vanessa moaned. He pulled her closer as he felt her start to tremble.

Then suddenly, Vanessa stiffened, then pushed him away.

Dazed, breathless and painfully aroused, Buddy could only stare at Vanessa, who didn't look as if she was in a much better state.

"I don't know who you are," she murmured. "And you're good; but you're not Rax."

From feeling far too hot, Buddy suddenly felt cold, and very, very dead.

For the second time in short succession, he found himself rammed up against the hallway wall. This time, though, the expression on Vanessa's face promised something a lot more painful than 'just' a kiss.

"Who are you?" she gritted.

"Vanessa I---"

Almost as suddenly as she'd taken hold of his jacket lapels again, Vanessa let go and stepped back a stunned and confused expression on her face. "Buddy?"

"Yeah."

"What the---" Vanessa stopped and swallowed. "What the hell are you doing? No, scratch that; I know what you're doing. I wanna know why you're doing it. Here. And--- and like that." And she jabbed a hand in his direction.

There might just have been a note of disappointment in her voice. Buddy wasn't sure. "It's a favour to a friend," he replied. "I'm sorry."

Understanding crossed her face. "You're here for Trakker's wife and kid." She shook her head. "You're going to get yourself killed. Mayhem wants that money and wants it badly. I don't get it," she shrugged, "but I ain't gonna get involved - and if you'd got any sense in that damn fool head of yours, you wouldn't either."

"I owe Matt this," Buddy answered simply. "Just--- Just pretend you haven't seen me."

"Sure. And what happens when the real Rax shows up?"

"He won't."

Vanessa shook her head. "You're crazy. You know this jerk wouldn't do the same for you."

"He already has," Buddy shot back. "Vanessa please; just let me go."

Her head dropped, letting a curtain of bright red hair fall between them. "They're on the third floor," she muttered. "Cliff Dagger and Bruno Sheppard are guarding them. Just tell them--- Tell them Mayhem needs to see the prisoners. Dagger and Sheppard are too dumb to question you. Then get the hell out of here. You'll fool them; you won't fool Mayhem any better than you fooled me."

Buddy stared, unable to believe what she'd just said.

Vanessa looked up again. "What are you waiting for, y'idiot? Get going. Before I change my mind."

Then she turned on her heel and stalked off, leaving Buddy gaping. There was something about the whole encounter that made no sense. But this ain't the time for thinking about it, he realised, hastily adjusting his expression back to something that might be a bit more Rax like. Later. I can think about it later. Much later.

Doing his best to dismiss the interlude from his mind, Buddy turned his attention to locating the stairs. There was a tiny voice at the back of his mind that told him he shouldn't trust Vanessa, but the rest of him refused to believe she'd lie. Not to him and not here and now. He reached the foot of the stairs. Only one way to find out.

Buddy started to climb.




Hondo crouched in the shadows of the alley, eyes trained on the loading dock. He'd been back in position nearly an hour; Buddy had been gone nearly an hour and a half. How much longer was it going to take?

"Sage to Striker."

Alex's voice was a welcome distraction. "Go ahead," Hondo answered.

"We're ready when you are," said Alex. "If you need us."

"Roger that." Hondo smiled faintly. "Seems all quiet though. So far so good."

"All right. We'll stand by."

Hondo heard the communications link click off and he returned all his attention back to the loading dock.

But just as he was beginning to settle back into watching and waiting, a new player walked onto the scene: Rax. The biker had clearly managed to free himself from his duct tape bonds and was now making his way back to Mayhem just as fast as he could, and Hondo felt powerless to stop him this time.

"Damnit," he muttered. He slapped the sidewalk with his hand in frustration. "Can't step in without giving the mission away; can't warn the kid trouble's just walking in." He swallowed. "Sure hope the kid's as sharp as Matt thinks he is."



As Buddy reached the third floor, he knew Vanessa had told him the truth. Scott's screams were loud and angry. Inwardly, at least, Buddy grinned. It sounded as if the small boy was hungry and he didn't care who knew about it.

"Lady, shut the brat up before I shut him up."

The voice made Buddy stiffen. He recognised it from the night of Mac's murder. It belonged to the Mohawk-wearing thug and for just a second, he was tempted to turn around and run the other way. If Mohawk recognised him he was dead.

"If you harm one hair on his head, I'll personally castrate you."

Sarah's words were enough to still his flight reaction. As long as he went in there, cloaked in Rax's arrogance, there was no reason Mohawk would know the truth.

Once more schooling his expression into a sneer, Buddy swaggered around the corner and into the room where Sarah was being held. She was sitting on a chair, doing her best to pacify the howling Scott in her arms. Either side of her were the two thugs from Mac's shop.

"Hey; I thought you'd gone for food," rumbled Eyepatch.

So that's where Rax was going, Buddy realised, even as he answered, "Mayhem wants to see the prisoners."

"Sure hope he's got some damn food," muttered Mohawk. "That kid's screaming's giving me a headache."

"C'mon," Buddy ordered, gripping Sarah by the arm as gently as he dared. "Mayhem wants to see you now."

"Get your mits offa me," Sarah snapped. "I can stand up on my own."

"She's trouble," Mohawk added. "I'd better come with you."

That was the last thing Buddy wanted, but there was no way he could protest without arousing the thug's suspicion - especially given the venomous look Sarah was treating him to. "You're right. This way."

Buddy started for the stairs, but he'd gone barely two paces in that direction when he heard the sound of someone else walking towards the room. A moment later and Sly Rax appeared in the doorway of Sarah's prison. He looked dishevelled and he was still missing footwear. He also looked pissed off beyond belief.

Behind him, Buddy heard Sarah, Mohawk and Eyepatch all gasp in surprise. I'm dead.

"Who the hell are you?" Rax snarled.

Buddy hesitated a beat. There was only one way out of this that wasn't going to result in Sarah and Scott getting caught in the crossfire. "More to the point," he drawled, "who the hell are you supposed to be?"

Rax's mouth hinged open. "Huh?"

Buddy glanced over his shoulder at Mohawk and Eyepatch. "Well aren't you gonna grab the impostor?"

Eyepatch nodded. "Oh; yeah. Sure." He started lumbering forwards, towards Rax. Then he stopped. "How do we know he's an impostor?"

Buddy stared for a second, then summoned up every ounce of ire he could manage. "Do I look like a freaking fake?" Eyepatch slowly shook his head. "Then grab the damn impostor before Mayhem wants to know what took us so long."

"Waitaminute!" Rax yelped. "I ain't no fake! I'm the real Rax!"

"Sure," Buddy drawled as Eyepatch and Mohawk brushed past him and grabbed Rax's arms. "An' I'm the tooth fairy."

Rax continued to babble as the two thugs dragged him off. The moment the coast was clear, Buddy turned back to the astonished Sarah.

"Give me Scott," he said urgently. "We're gonna have to get outta here now."

Sarah started for a second. "Wait, what?"

"Shit, we don't have time for this; they're dumb but they ain't that dumb: Sarah give me Scott!"

"Buddy?"

"Yes, Buddy."

"What the---" Sarah stopped. "You know what; tell me later." She handed over Scott, who seemed to sense the urgency of the situation and stopped crying. "Which way is out?"

"It's down the stairs, then left and follow the hallway to the loading bay. I'm right behind you."

That was all the encouragement Sarah needed. She took off out of the room and down the stairs. Buddy was at her heels.

From somewhere behind him, he heard an explosion of anger. He guessed that meant Mohawk and Eyepatch had finally worked out they'd grabbed the wrong Rax, and that knowledge lent him extra speed down the stairs. It wasn't going to be enough though. It was too far to the loading dock. Rax and his two pet thugs would catch them up.

As he reached the foot of the stairs, he made Sarah stop for a moment. "Here," he said, "take Scott."

Sarah eyed him mistrustfully. "But---"

"Don't argue!" Buddy retorted. "Look, just trust me. I'm right behind you, all right?" He heard heavy footsteps on the stairs. "Go, already!"

This time, at least, she didn't bother arguing and instead set off for the loading bay. Buddy took a couple of steps in that direction, then stopped and turned to face the foot of the stairs. Time to buy a little more time.




Sarah ran, Scott clutched tightly against her body. She didn't know what was going on, but Buddy was right; this wasn't the place to argue. Just as long as they both got out of this, she could ask for an explanation later.

"What the---"

The voice made Sarah look up in time to see the speaker, a technician - to judge by the lab coat - crumple into an unconscious heap. Behind the prone scientist stood Vanessa.

For a second, Sarah thought it was the escape over. Then, to her surprise, Vanessa stepped aside.

"Why?" asked Sarah.

Vanessa shrugged. "You or your husband ever drop shit on Buddy and I'll kill you personally."

"You don't ever have to worry about that," Sarah answered.

"Then get the hell outta here," said Vanessa turning away. "Or else I might have to do something you'd regret."

Sarah didn't need second bidding. She took to her heels once more. Rounding one more corner, she found the loading dock Buddy had mentioned. Through that she ran and then across the vehicle yard, dimly aware that she had no idea where to go beyond this.

"Sarah! Over here!"

Blindly, she followed the familiar voice, but it was only when she felt someone put their arms around her to stop her flight that she realised that, while she knew the voice, she most definitely did not recognise the person. Dressed in some kind of uniform and wearing a mask that came down over his eyes, he looked for all the world like the two VENOM agents who'd grabbed her.

"It's OK, Sarah; I'm one of the good guys," he said. "Promise."




"Oh you are one arrogant son of a bitch," Rax snarled as he reached the foot of the stairs.

Buddy grinned back. "Takes one to know one."

"Hawks?!" Rax was incredulous. "Geeze you're a dumb puke if you think you can get away with this."

Buddy just grinned more. "Might wanna rethink that, Rax; I've already got away with it. Sarah's home free."

Rax smiled. "Yeah; but you ain't." The two thugs loomed behind Rax. "And I guess I got me some real good help here."

Oh shit. Buddy started backing up along the hallway. "Guess you still can't do your own dirty work, huh?"

Rax's face contorted into a sneer. "Did you forget what happened to your pal Mac?"

"No," Buddy answered, continuing to back away. "And someday, Rax, you're gonna pay for that."

"And who's gonna make me? You?" Rax laughed. "Grab the little puke."

Mohawk and Eyepatch stepped forwards, reaching for Buddy. Buddy leapt back, avoiding their grabbing hands.

"Gotta do better than that," he warned. "Hey Rax - maybe you should try yourself."

"And maybe you should watch your mouth," Rax retorted.

"Why?" Buddy asked, backing further along the hallway. Another couple of steps and he'd be able to make a break for it. "You don't seriously think I actually care what you think?"

"You should," said Rax.

The two thugs made another attempt at grabbing him and Buddy leapt back again.

"And maybe you shoulda used your brain when you had the chance," Buddy shot back. "See ya!"

And Buddy took off down the hallway.




"Where's Buddy?" the man in the mask asked as Sarah panted.

"He---" Sarah swallowed and wished she could catch her breath. "He stayed behind. I think. There was Rax and Sheppard and---"

"Christ," mumbled the man. "I'm gonna kick the kid's ass." Then, apparently to no-one in particular, he added, "Sage, now!"

"Only if you beat me to it," Sarah retorted, ignoring the cryptic comment.

The man chuckled. "Well--- Wait! Down!" Before Sarah could say a word, she found herself being forced into a crouch.

Looking round, she saw the reason for it as Buddy came sprinting out of the building. He took the loading bay at a leap that took him almost half way across the vehicle yard. He stumbled as he landed, but he kept going. A moment later and Sarah saw the reasons why Buddy hadn't bothered to stop. Rax, Dagger and Sheppard came out onto the loading dock.
Rax waved his arms, and Sarah guessed he was ordering the two thugs on, after Buddy.

"Blaster - fire."

The phrase came from the masked man and a second later, a bright beam of light shot across the distance. Sarah saw Buddy duck and then some of the junk in the vehicle yard exploded.

That was too much as far as Sarah was concerned, and she fainted.




"Sarah?"

Fuzzily, Sarah thought she ought to recognise the speaker, but she felt too fogged and confused to try to work it out.

"It's OK, Buddy; she's coming round. Figure it was all just a bit too much of a shock."

Buddy. Unwillingly, her memories started to clear. Her abduction. The rescue. The masked man. Buddy's escape. Opening her eyes, Sarah found herself lying on the bench seat of Firecracker, a worried looking Buddy, with a grinning Scott in his arms, looking on. Beside him was--- "Hondo McLean?"

Hondo chuckled. "I didn't think you'd recognised me earlier."

"Before? Oh." Sarah shook her head. "The masked guy. Right."

"Right," agreed Hondo.

She slowly sat up, wincing a bit as the world swayed a little. "Are we--- Where are we?"

"A couple of blocks away from VENOM's hideout," Buddy answered.

"Shouldn't we be getting the hell away from here?"

"VENOM are a little occupied right now," said Hondo, grinning. "Alex and Bruce came up with a distraction and it seemed too good to waste."

Sarah looked from Hondo to Buddy, who was now grinning broadly. "Should I ask?"

"Well," said Buddy, "Bruce found the building plans."

"And traced the sewer lines," put in Hondo.

"And figured out a way to make 'em back flow," added Buddy.

"So right now," Hondo finished, "Mayhem's got one hell of a shit problem."

Sarah giggled. "Mayhem's not gonna like that."

Hondo grinned. "No kidding."

"Still," Buddy mused, "we probably oughta get outta here. If nothing else," he added, "I kinda figure there's someone who's dying to see Hondo and I ain't lying."

Sarah smiled. "I'll just bet."




It was probably an understatement to say that Matt was happy to see his wife and son return to the mansion in one piece, Buddy decided. On one level, he was pleased that it had all worked out and that Sarah was back, but seeing the family group together just reminded him of Vanessa and the fact that they were standing on opposite sides of the fence.

"Kid," Hondo advised, "I should go shower and clean up. Matt'll probably wanna talk to you but that ain't gonna be for a while yet."

"Yeah." Buddy sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I guess I'll see you later."

Hondo grinned. "Damn straight."

Making quick excuses - not that Buddy thought Matt actually heard him - he headed up to his apartment. A hot shower and at least eight hours of sleep seemed like a good plan.

Maybe then certain other things might start making sense.

Unfortunately, while the shower had mostly taken care of the hair dye and other grime, the sleep hadn't helped the night's events make sense and as he worked on another set of brakes - this time, at least, the car was a recent model of Toyota that had been looked after properly - Buddy couldn't help but wonder about Vanessa's behaviour.

Why had she let him go?

Why had she kissed him?

Why had he let her kiss him?

The three questions buzzed around his mind like persistent flies. Buddy just wished he could mash his thoughts with a rolled up newspaper in the same way he dealt with flies.

"I have to say," said a voice, "black hair didn't suit you."

Buddy looked up from the brake disk he was working on and offered Sarah a smile. "I guess I should be grateful I didn't manage to turn my hair green this time."

Sarah's eyebrows lifted. "Should I ask?"

Buddy shook his head. Vanessa had been involved in that one, too. "Long story."

Sarah shot him a knowing look, but all she said was, "I just wanted to stop by on my way into town, to say thanks. You didn't have to do what you did last night."

Buddy ducked his head and studied the brake disk in an effort to cover his discomfort. "You and Matt have been so good to me," he murmured. "Seemed like a good way to return the favour."

Sarah chuckled. "Trust me, next time? Flowers and chocolates are a lot less likely to get you killed."

"Guess so."

"I also figure you should know, Vanessa let me go last night."

Buddy's head snapped up suddenly. "What?"

"She let me go. She could have stopped me leaving and she let me go." Sarah sighed. "She didn't say it in so many words, but I think she did it for you."

Buddy let his head drop. "This would be so easy if she'd just stop caring."

"No it wouldn't," said Sarah softly. "Because you'd still care, even if she didn't."

There was so much truth in that statement, Buddy didn't even try to answer it. Instead, he slipped the old brake disk off and fitted the replacement.

"I'll see you later," Sarah continued, taking the hint. "I need to get down to the court house and try to explain, if I can, why I didn't pay Matt's tickets yesterday!"

Buddy mustered a smile at that. "Good luck?" he offered.

"I think I'll need it."

Buddy watched Sarah walk out of the workshop and a moment later, he heard her Chevy pull away from the gas station. The answer to some of his questions presented itself: Vanessa cared about him.

He shook his head. He should have known. The answer didn't help.




The rest of the day dragged as far as Buddy was concerned. Once the Toyota's brakes had been done, there had been nothing else booked in and only a small handful of other customers. Finally, at four o'clock Earl said, "Kid, you might as well go on home. You look like you could use an early night." He grinned. "You wouldn't know anything about a sewer problem in downtown, now would you?"

Buddy feigned innocence. "Who, me?"

Earl laughed. "That's what I figured." He gestured to Firecracker. "Go on; get. Take the extra sleep when it's offered."

It was Buddy's turn to laugh. "I'm going. See you tomorrow, Earl."

He drove back to the mansion slowly. Earl was right, Buddy acknowledged, he could use the early night. Even if it would give him even more unwanted time to think about the night before. He sighed. It wasn't going to do him any good brooding over it. Vanessa had done what she'd done; he'd done what he'd done. That was it and all about it.

Maybe, someday, he'd figure it out.

He pulled into the mansion's parking garage and noted the blue Chevy wasn't back yet, which struck him as odd. Surely Sarah would have finished her errands by now? Buddy frowned. Maybe there'd been a problem with the judge over those fines? He wasn't sure quite what excuse Sarah was going to give as to why they hadn't been paid the day before, but he was betting "VENOM kidnapped me" probably wasn't going to be it. Anything else would probably sound like an excuse. Come to that, even if she told the truth, Buddy doubted the judge would believe her.

He shook his head as a he climbed out of Firecracker. Maybe she'd stayed in town to meet up with Matt.

He locked Firecracker and headed up the stairs. There were plenty of reasons why Sarah might not be back yet, except that as Buddy reached the top of the stairs and almost walked straight into a sombre looking Alex, he knew that whatever the reason was, it wasn't anything good.

"I tried calling the gas station," said Alex before Buddy could even open his mouth.

"We were quiet; Earl sent me home." Buddy swallowed. "What's happened?"

There was a long hesitation, then, quietly, Alex said, "There was an accident, in town. Outside the courthouse."

"Sarah---"

Alex put his hand on Buddy's shoulder and squeezed gently. "She was hit by a speeding car---"

"She's dead," Buddy said softly. "Isn't she?"

There was another long hesitation, then Alex, regretfully nodded.




Sarah Trakker's funeral was a much smaller affair than Mac's had been. Both her parents were in attendance, as were Alex and Hondo. Buddy, at least, was grateful for their presence. Ever since Sarah's accident, Matt had been wrapped up in a cocoon of icy cold grief and even at the graveside service, Buddy watched as the older man stood apart from the rest of the party of mourners. He suspected that it would be a very long time before Matt let this go, but maybe Alex and Hondo could help.

Buddy rubbed his arms, once more feeling uncomfortable in his dark suit. This wasn't right, or fair. Sarah certainly hadn't deserved to be the victim of a hit-and-run. And the bitter irony was that but for Mayhem's intervention the day before, she wouldn't even have been at the courthouse.

Buddy watched as the casket was slowly lowered into the grave.

No; it wasn't right and it wasn't fair. And someday, Mayhem would pay for it.