Jack the Kid

[ifallupstairs]

Vaka laid on the table gnawing on her bottom lip trying to concentrate on everything but the water playing a horrid melody on her skin, one drop of water at a time. She did her best to think of better times and of Toby, she knew that they would help her but they were so easily shattered with each drop of water. Her eyes scanned the room hoping for something to concentrate on and break the hollow echo that was starting to play in her head after each droplet. It felt like she had been laying there for days when her eyes, full of more water than tears at this point, when she saw Toby. Her heart warmed, as he unbuckled her she reached for him instantly, needing to feel his warmth and his arms around her. She whispered in his ear softly, "I guess I have to give Jack a chance now." before resting her head on his shoulder, finally relaxing after being so stressed by the water, their location had no matter for her. She felt him move and ask her what they had done, "I will explain another time, lets just get out of here. "

Vaka kept her head against his shoulder as he navigated the halls until they came to the staircase. As he tripped and dropped her she felt her head thwack against the edge of a stair, she reached back to hold her head and make sure she wasn't bleeding as the world started to go grey and then black. She watched as lights danced behind her eyelids and she was ignorant to her surroundings, all there was was light.

She felt hands start to shake her and she opened her eyes to see an unfamiliar face surrounded by a halo light. She laughed as if she was drunk and asked, "Mister angel, am I dead?" Her head lulled from side to side, she couldn't remember anything, the only thing she knew was the language on her lips and the fantom echo that was playing on her forehead was giving her a headache. "ugh! My head hurts so"

[Invader Len]

Jack smiled as Vaka spoke, she was alright. Knocked silly, but alright. He hugged her close to him, burying his face in her shoulder.
"Oh, thank God, Vaka. I thought I'd lost you." he murmured, pulling away. He brushed away strands of her hair, looking for any injuries.
"I think you might've hit your head when I'd dropped you. Do you feel any swelling? Bleeding? How many fingers am I holding up? I want to make sure you don't have a concussion. Does anywhere else hurt? Can you remember your name?" he asked, checking her over for bruises and injuries, not the slightest bit embarrassed when he put his hand under her shirt to check her breathing and heart beat. He put his other hand over his heart.
"Your lungs feel normal, and your heart feels the same as mine. Here, let me check your wrists and ankles. If those bastards hurt you in any way at all." he grumbled, his face darker behind his mask.

[ifallupstairs]

She snapped out of the lull as the angel felt for her pulse until his hand snaked beneath her shirt and placed itself above her breast. She sat up and quickly pushed him away hugging her legs to her chest. "Just hold up there mister. You may have saved me but that does not mean that you have the right to be all handsy with me. I am a lady and you will treat me as such. And who on earth is this Vaka woman you keep mistaking me for!" She shimmied back until she was against the wall and stood up watching him intently waiting to see what this potential wolf in Sheeps clothing was going to do to her.

[Invader Len]

Jack blinked in confusion. Wh-what? What was going on? This was confusing! Why was Vaka acting like she didn't know him? Was this some sort of punishment for not coming to save her earlier?
"What? Vaka, what's wrong with you? Stop playing around! This isn't the time! How can you act silly at a time like this?" he scolded her. He took off his hat and mask, looking at her seriously.
"It's me, Toby? Don't you recognize me? The color of my costume was swapped, it's the back-up one that Harp gave me. It's used during winter stunts, so I didn't throw it out." he explained, checking her head again when he noticed a swelling behind her ear.
"Huh? This bruise... I knew it! You did hit your head earlier! Here, feel right there!" he ushered her, moving her fingers where the bump was.
"If you hit there... Hey, tell me, what do you think your name is? What is your Sister's name? Your father's occupation? My identity? What city are we in? Can you tell me any of these things?" he asked, very serious.

[ifallupstairs]

She slapped him across the face and yelled, "Stop touching me already. I have no clue who you are, who this Harp person is, and I definitely have no fucking clue who I am. For all I know my name could be Shanaynay. Why am I too believe you when you call me Vaka? This could be some trick on your behalf." Her head throbbed as her voice got louder and she held gingerly on to the swollen part of her skull. "Who are you anyways. You could be some fiend that captures young women to use them for your own pleasure! The girl then looked down at her hands and asked, "Who the hell am I engaged to? I found someone attractive....someone finds me attractive...what on earth? What do I even fucking look like!" She looked down while keeping an eye on him trying to see what she looked like.

[Invader Len]

Toby hissed in pain as she slapped him, rubbing his sore cheek. He listened to her rant with an unamused glare. She'd lost her memories... Well, she didn't have to hit him! Who did she think she was?! ... Oh, right. She had no clue who she was. Greeeeeat. He took a hold of her shoulders, spinning her around so she could see her reflection in the glass door.
"That's what you look like! You're the most beautiful girl I know or could dream of!" he said, spinning her around to face him again.
"Your name is Vaka (insert last name here cause I forgot it), you're the daughter of the Chief of Police in the Manhattan Precinct, you have an older sister named Marcy, your favorite stuffed animal is a unicorn named Henry, and I proposed to you a few days ago. My name is Toby Jackson, I've known you since we were both babies, and you've come to me for every last problem you couldn't tell your family about. I've changed my name to William and I'm a criminal prosecutor in New York. I'm also the true identity of the Phantom Thief Jack the Kid, a notorious jewel Theif. Harp is my assistant in my escapades and I have two younger siblings who don't know of my criminal identity. Now, if I were some rapist trying to take advantage of you, I think it'd be much more simpler to have hit you with a brick than lie to you! If there's one thing I refuse to do anymore, it's lie. So if you think I'm lying, go ahead and slap me again." he said, narrowing his eyes in a stubborn glare.

[ifallupstairs]

Vaka folded her arms and looked down, "if all that is true then why can't i remember it at all. I cant recall my mother, my father, my sister, nor can I recall the fact im apparently engaged to probably one of the most morally confused guy....why cant i remember any of it." she said then pacing over to the balcony and resting her arms on it. "What if this is permanent, that I cant remember anything from my past and I just end up living a shadow of a life, never knowing who I really am, trying to be who I was. " Vaka rest her head against her forearms and let out a broken breath, her shoulders shuddering, she could feel tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes and kept inhaling sharply to try and postpone their coming.

[Invader Len]

Toby sighed, damn she was stubborn. He followed her to the balcony, leaning on it, his hair fluttering in the breeze.
"Then I'll make you remember. Listen to me, everything we have ever experienced is recorded in our brain. When you don't know the answer to your math test, you do, stress has just suppressed it. Every memory has a trigger, like a photograph from your childhood or a certain smell. Your memories haven't been deleted, just suppressed. There has to be a trigger to help you remember. I'll help you look for that trigger, if it takes the rest of my life. And even if you don't recover your memories," he turned to her, picking up her hand with the engagement ring.
"I still love you. When I gave you this ring, I gave it with a promise to always be by your side. Even if you don't remember it, I do, and I will abide by it." he said, his face honest.

He picked up his mask and hat, putting them on.
"We can't stay here long. We're being chased. I'll take you to a clinic, a big hospital is too risky. That was where we were captured last time. I want to make certain you're not hurt badly. After that, I need to make sure your sister and Father are safe." he said, stepping up on to the balcony railing and holding his hand out to her, his cape billowing in the wind.

[ifallupstairs]

She listened to him and sighed, he was being nothing but honest with her, she could tell that from his eyes, they seemed to be pleading for her to remember. She carefully hoisted herself upon the ledge of the balcony and stood for a second regaining her balance upon the thin ledge that was keeping her up from plummeting to her death. "I don't know who you are.....who you really are....but you are in my corner so I should at least give you a chance before I run off telling stories of men in capes and masks, hoping some one will believe me and save me." Vaka said before gingerly taking the hand of her alleged fiance, trying to figure out how she could not remember someone so instrumental in her life from a young age and someone she had been so in love with. It hurt a little to know that she could not reciprocate the love he had felt for her.

[Invader Len]

Toby pulled her close to him, holding her tightly with one arm while the other checked his communicator. Damn, Harp was still too far away, still over in Cambridge. It'd take him too long to reach them yet. He tucked the device away, turning to Vaka.
"Whatever you do, don't scream. I know what I'm doing." he said, jumping down off the banister with her. Through his acrobatics, they were unhurt from the fall, Jack taking over and moving like a monkey, grabbing hold of pipes and railings to ease their descent. He set Vaka down on the ground, ducking out of the alleyway to check for people. There were very few, bums and drunks of that sort. Still, he couldn't take chances. Deb's men could still be hiding somewhere, searching for them. He turned, holding out his hand to Vaka.
"Can you run? We'll have to move fast. And keep your head down. If you're seen with me, it means the end of your career in law enforcement. The police chief's daughter and the Phantom Thief was already a risky enough love-story, imagine what will happen if the public gets wind of it."

Harp gave a tired sigh as they landed, wheeling the unconcious chief into the building. It had been a while since they'd used the headquarters in Cambridge, a very long time. He had brought along Marcy, who was playing with the children, keeping the lot of them out of trouble. He turned to Damian, nodding.
"If what you've told me is correct, this means Vintage is planning a very dangerous move, for us and the people. I want you to go out and investigate more, and try to locate Jack and Miss Vaka. They are in grave danger on their own." he said to him. Damian nodded, walking out, his rifle on his back.
Harp sat down by the chief, reading a book, waiting for him to awake.