Kada & Mash
Location(s): ALL: Heading to the Picnic Location
Kai drove the truck away from the hotel and thinned his lips as he considered how angry Marc had sounded on the phone.
"You don't think we were to hard on him, do you?" He chanced a glance down to Ada and then quickly pecked her on the forehead before paying attention to the road again.
Ada shrugged a bit and then smirked as she looked up at Kai.
"After what they pulled last night they got off easy." "That is true. Although Marc has a lot on his shoulders just now, more than any of us really." He pulled up into the centre of town and found a spot to park near to the phone store. Before jumping out of the truck he turned to Ada and stroked the back of her hair.
"Guess I'm just too much of a big softie really, that's why you always did wear the pants in our relationship." He chuckled and gave her a light nudge before leaning down and giving her a soft kiss on the lips.
Reaching up and cupping his cheeks she held the kiss a moment longer before looking into his eyes and smiling at him.
"You worry too much Makana. Remember Marc is best when he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. He is probably doing better now than ever," she said in a reassuring voice before slipping out of the truck and leaning against him softly.
"The man can only be so strong before he breaks. I may worry to much but that's one of the reasons you love me." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and walked with her into the store and smiled at the cashiers as they entered.
"Yes it is." He looked around and wondered what the latest gadgets could do now.
"Think any of these can make me feel like I'm living in one of my computer games while I play it yet?" Chuckling she laced her fingers with his as she started to stroll around, pulling him with her.
"Oh no you don't, I plan on keeping you far to busy for games for a while," she teased in a coy voice.
"Well I definitely can't argue with that." He let out a short guffaw and smirked as she led him further into the store. Kai glanced around and just shook his head.
"These all do the exact same thing yet some of them are so god damn expensive. What a rip off." "Baby don't worry I have this," she said as she stepped over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She didn't expect him to pay for the phone. She just didn't want to be away from him.
Kai raised a brow and laughed, shaking his head as he hugged her.
"Oh I wasn't complaining about spending the money on you, more just how these companies can justify charging different damn prices for the same things." Ada giggled as she rested her head on his chest.
"I know, I just mean save your money. Maybe for something sparkly that might fit right here," she laughed as she leaned back and tapped her ring finger as she gave him a wink.
"Subtle as a brick." He laughed hard and then lifted her up in a big bear hug before resting her back down on the floor.
"Maybe one day, if you behave yourself." He stuck his tongue out at her and then rolled his eyes comically.
"Oh right, I forgot, you don't know what the word behave means." "No I don't," she smirked as she stepped back.
"And you know what? I want what I want and I ain't waiting for what convention dictates. People dying left and right? Screw that." Taking a breath she knelt down on one knee and looked up at Kai.
"I love you Makana, I have since we were dumb kids, I've loved you every day since. That never stopped and it won't. Will you marry me?" she said as she reached out and took his hand. Fuck it, she didn't care what anyone thought, she didn't want to waste another minute for anything concerning him. They had already wasted ten years.
Tilting his head like a confused puppy, Kai half expected her to jump up and yell just kidding but when she hadn't moved in the seconds since she dropped to her knee he knew she wasn't kidding. He grinned wide and tilted his head the other way and then kicked up on of his feet in the girliest way he could think of.
"Well I was expecting a ring at least but what the hell, yes!" He grabbed her hands and pulled her up onto her feet before grabbing her hands and jumping up and down on the spot like a teenage girl, spinning her in circles in the middle of the store while every eye was on them. Ada wrapped her arms around him and couldn't stop giggling, he was such a goof but she loved every ounce of him for it.
He only stopped long enough to scoop her up in his arms and spin her around before kissing her full on the lips. Pressing her lips to his, she moaned softly into the kiss as a few tears of joy rolled down her cheeks. As her lips peeled away from his she sighed happily.
"You want a ring, I'll let you pick out whatever one you want," she said in all seriousness before kissing him again. She doubted he was but even if he wasn't she didn't care as long as he was hers and she was his.
He pulled back from the kiss and laughed before shaking his head at her.
"Fuck that, we're getting three rings. An engagement ring for you and then wedding rings for us. Then we're going to city hall to get papers and get god damn married as soon as god damn possible." He then decided to shove her over his shoulder before grabbing the exact phone she had had before and taking it up to the counter.
"I'll take one of these to go please." He couldn't wipe the goofy grin off of his face.
Ada just let him and rested her chin in the palm of her hands as her elbows pressed into his back.
"Well fine then, if that's what you want my caveman, but I need to pick something up from my parents house first," she quipped, she was smiling ear to ear. She go right that minute if he wanted to.
Kai purchased the phone from the bemused cashier and then hiked Ada further up onto his shoulder without a word. He merely grunted, like a caveman. He spun her around once more before giving a curtsey to the staff who gave a mild applause as they departed the store. Ada just waved to the staff as they left, she didn't care if they were acting like fools.
Kai laughed the entire way back to his truck and only put Ada down once they reached the truck.
"One second, stay right there." Kai ducked into the passenger side of the truck and opened the glove compartment. He took something out of it and hid it behind his back as he turned back to Ada. Ada perked a brow as she watched him.
"Anela. I have a present for you. Close your eyes." He never imagined he would be able to actually do this, but here it was. Tilting her head to the side with a bewildered look on her face for a moment before she shrugged and closed her eyes.
Kai placed a small box in her hands and stepped back with a smug look on his face. Inside the box was a
ring.
Ada's eyes slowly opened as she felt the box in her hand, widening as they saw the ring box.
"Kai..." was all she could manage to whisper as she opened the box, a few tears welling up in her eyes as she saw it. She hadn't expected a ring and even though it was not something one would really think of as an engagement ring she didn't care. It was from him. Her eyes darted up to his.
"How long have you had this?" she asked softly as she pulled the ring out of the box and then looked back down at it.
"Since my mom..." His eyes welled up a little bit but he took a deep breath and smiled warmly.
"It was her eternity ring that my dad gave her. Sure they didn't last but she figured we could change the story for it?" He knew how much Ada had loved his mother and being able to give her this, after all this time, it made his heart soar.
Ada nodded slowly and smiled as she slipped it onto her ring finger, her lips rolling in as she giggled ever so softly.
"Seems she knew more than we did," she said in a gentle voice before looking up at him and taking a deep breath.
"You weren't the only one that has something of hers." Kai's smile faltered and he gawked at Ada as he heard her words.
"What do you mean?" He wasn't upset he just had no idea that she would have anything from his mother. His heart began to pound faster and he stood stuck in wonder as his mind reeled to what it could be.
Biting her bottom lip she wished her phone hadn't been shattered, she had a picture on it of what she was talking about. Words would just have to do now. Taking a breath she smiled up at him.
"After she died I got a package in the mail from a lawyer. Apparently it was supposed to be sent to me in the event..." she said before cutting her words off and pressing the back of her hand to her eye. Ada and Kai's mother had been very close, even after the break up. She loved the woman dearly and it showed. Taking another breath she looked back to Kai and took his hand gently in hers.
"It was a wedding dress, hers..." Kai's breath caught and he stumbled against the side of the truck. His eyes welled up and he struggled to breath for a moment. His mother, even now, even when she was gone, was looking out for him. The tears were silent but plentiful as they rolled down his cheeks. His lips thinned as he tried to stop the flood of emotion that was hitting him but he couldn't keep it going. He practically yelped as he took a haggard breath and began to sob. His mother always knew. Always... He missed her so much and it was clear that Ada did too. He moved forward and wrapped his arms around Ada, burying his face into her neck and hair as he let it all out.
Adelaide wrapped her arms around Kai and rested her cheek against his. She would never be able to comprehend how it felt to loose a parent, hers were both still alive. Yet she adored his mother, she was like a second mother to her.
"She loved you so much, she loved us. We're going to make all these fuck ups between us right. For us and for her," she whispered softly as her hands came up and cupped his cheeks, turning his face to hers and kissing him softly though the mutual tears.
"I promise." Kai whimpered through the kiss and nodded as he returned it. He then smothered her face in tear soaked kisses and pulled back to show a small, soft smile.
"You're right. We'll fix it. It'll be better than before and we'll be happier than before. For my Makuahine." He took a few deep breaths and then wiped his face with the sleeves of his shirt.
"Okay, we best get a move on and set this picnic up before our entire class shows up and there aren't excessive amounts of decorations put up. They'll think they're in the wrong place otherwise." He smirked and then opened the passenger side door for her before closing it after her and running around to the driver's side.
Slipping into her seat she wiped the tears away and waked for Kai to join her. Slipping over next to him as she waited for him to drive them to the picnic. Pulling out the new phone he bought her she went through the bullshit of having to set the thing up so she could at least take and receive calls. Granted after everything that had happened lately she was actually grateful not to have had to deal with calls over the last evening and morning. She made a mental note that when all this was said and done her and Kai needed to slip away for a while and just unplug from the world. They still had so much to catch up on.
Firing the truck up, Kai drove them out towards the picnic location and stuck the radio on, hoping for music but instead got more reports on the deaths and quickly turned it back off.
"Sorry... Do you want to dig through the glovebox and see what CDs I still have in there?" Ada looked up from her phone and shrugged, leaning against him and humming to herself instead as she set up her phone. As they drove up to the picnic location Ada slowly looked up from her phone and screamed out. Hanging up from the Ferris Wheel that was set up for that evenings Fall Carnival was Jewell Price, a long dried trail of blood streaming down the white painted metal.
Kai slammed his foot onto the breaks and looked down at Ada then followed her line of sight. He gaped as he saw Jewell hanging there... dead. Kai had known Jewell, they'd been friends of a sort, before he'd met Ada and got his act cleaned up. He'd been happy when he heard that Jewell'd cleaned herself up and got on with her life. To see her ripped away from life like this... Kai's eyes watered and he grabbed Ada and buried her face into his chest. He wanted to shield her from all of this.
Grabbing his phone, Kai hit Marc's number. He had to know about this and he didn't trust the police force to act quickly enough.
Ada turned into Kai, pressing her face against his chest as he called Marc. She wished she hadn't seen it, she couldn't get the image out of her head as she clung to her fiance. Marcs phone rang but he was driving and didn't want to take his eyes off the road.
"Ash, can you get that," he said as he motioned to his phone on the dashboard.
Ash had been quiet since leaving but then so had Marc. They'd let a whole lot out in a short period of time, there was bound to be some upset. Nodding, Ash reached forward and grabbed his phone.
"It's Kai calling." She stated it factually and then hit answer on the screen.
"Hello Kai. Marc is driving so I am his temporary secretary. Everything okay?" She looked down at her hands and noticed some mascara streaks still on them from wiping at her eyes earlier.
"Ash. Tell Marc to come to the picnic site, don't bother going to the police station. Ada and I... we've..." He trailed off and sniffed a little bit.
"Kai... what is it? What's wrong? Is Ada okay? Are you at the picnic site?" Her voice was laced with concern and she looked over to Marc. She put the phone on speaker as she spoke.
"We're safe. We just.... It's Jewell Price. She's dead." Marc glanced towards Ash and sighed before he changed directions.
"On our way Kai, keep Ada safe and dude I never said this but if someone comes at you, put them down," he said flatly. Hitting the gas he sped up and maneuvered to get them there as quickly as possible.
Kai nodded idly before realising he was on a call.
"I heard nothing. Drive safe and see you soon." He hung up the call and kissed the top of Ada's head before sighing. What kind of psycho did this?
"Ash, remember those lessons I gave you?" he asked in reference to the firing range he'd taken her too from time to time to let off steam over the years. He always posed it as just a friendly outting when they caught up from time to time; in all honesty he just wanted her to know how to protect herself.
"Yeah...?" Ash definitely remembered those lessons. She'd been surprised to find that she really enjoyed the act of shooting but it wasn't just the shooting she had enjoyed.
"Good, reach for the box under your seat," he said quickly as he rounded a corner. She reached down between her legs and felt around for the box. Under the seat was a box wrapped up like a present, horribly wrapped but wrapping had never been his forte. She smiled at the wrapping slightly and began to unwrap it. On a card taped to the paper was a little note
"For all your destressing needs." A raised brow made her even more curious than she had been before. Inside the box was a Beretta 9, chrome with pink pearl grip. On the grip were gold letters in script,
Deadly Beautiful If the situation were not so serious Ash would have snorted with laughter at the over the top personalisation but she appreciated it all the same.
"If I didn't know any better I'd think you knew this serial killer was going to be on the loose..." She pulled the gun out and ensured that the safety was on as she admired it.
"Thank you." Her voice was small as she spoke.
Marc nodded as he pulled up and parked his car. Turning it off he turned towards Ash and cupped her cheeks.
"Anyone comes at you, you shoot to kill. Don't think, just squeeze the trigger like I taught you," he said in a firm voice as he locked eyes with her. She blinked and was unsure how to react to his words. She didn't think she could do it but it was clear that he wasn't going to let her get hurt. Pulling her close he kissed her softly, right then he didn't care if it was right or wrong. If shit went down he... stopping his train of thought he climbed out of the car and popped the trunk. He needed his own gear.
Ash blinked yet again as her free hand rose slowly to her lips as he jumped out the car. Her fingers traced where his had just been and she licked her lips lightly before shaking herself back into the present. There was a difficult decision coming her way, she knew that, but was it really so difficult? She took a deep, calming breath and sat in the car waiting for Marc to get back in and drive them to meet up with Kai and Ada. She shoved the gun into the waistband of her trousers at the front right side and covered it with her sweater and shirt.
Marc took a few minutes before he climbed back into the driver seat, handing his jacket over to Ashley for now while he drove. He had his shoulder holsters on, his glocks in each. He had more on him in various locations but that was all that could be seen. It was only a few more minutes before they were at the park and he pulled up next to Kai's truck, nodding at his best friend as he saw him holding onto Ada. Climbing out he waited to Ash to hand him his jacket before slipping it back on.
Stepping to the back of his car he took Ashley's hand and palmed her a small knife pocket knife.
"Put it in the cup of your bra, just in case," he said quietly before turning and looking over to Kai. Kai waved over to Marc as he saw them pull up.
Ashley glanced down at Marc's hand and took the pocketknife from him, turning around away from Ada and Kai, Ashley shoved it down into her left bra cup. She made sure it wasn't showing and then turned around before she made her way over to her other two best friends. Her eyes kept wandering over to Marc and she found herself biting her lower lip as she thought about their morning together, that was until she saw the body of Jewell Price hanging from the ferris wheel. Her hand flew up and covered her mouth as her eyes widened. She was surprised she hadn't screamed but after her breakdown over Atlas's demise yesterday it wasn't surprising that she had no screams left to share.
Kai released Ada from his grip as he saw Ashley making her way towards them. He frowned in concern over Ash's reaction. He'd half expected her to collapse from the sight of it but she was handling it better than he would have guessed. Shakily, Ash walked over to Ada and gave her friend a tight hug and then repeated the process with Kai.
"Hey kiddo, glad to see you're okay. You had us worried sick when we went to pick you up." "Yeah... Sorry about that I just didn't want you two to worry. I didn't expect you guys to come and pick me up..." She lightly tugged on her right earlobe and crinkled her nose as she realised how worried she had made them anyway.
"Well, it's okay. We're just glad you two have finally gotten together again after all this time." He snickered a little bit, trying to lighten the mood of the dire situation they were currently within.
Marc looked up at the Ferris Wheel as he dialed a call in, glancing towards Kai out of the corner of his eye.
"No, she is dating Al," he said in a noncommittal way before he turned his attention to the person on the other end of the phone. Ash glanced over to Marc and frowned a little before turning away from him. She wasn't by rights upset at his comment because it was truthful, it was the tone in which he had said it. She busied herself with her purse and kept her eyes off of Marc.
"Yeah, tell Tim we have another one. Ferris Wheel at the Carnival location. Who? You sure? Right. Send over a crew soon," he said before hanging up the phone and tucking it back into his pocket. Running his hands up into his hair he shook off the feeling he was having.
"Kai, I want you to take the girls and get the fuck out of town now. There is another murder on top of this one and someone got shot," he said as he looked over towards Ada. Ada's brows furrowed slightly at the way Marc was looking at her before her eyes went over to Kai and then Ashley and then back at Marc.
"Marc... who?" Ashley walked back beside Ada and took her hand in her own. She wasn't leaving Marc behind but now was not the moment to have that cry of outrage. She knew that. Kai wrapped his arms around the shoulders of the girls and looked at Marc with concern on his face.
"Marc, who was shot? I know that Trent Lanier was found this morning... Riley texted me about it and I called you and told you about it... remember?" "Lawson, they are taking him into surgery now to remove the bullet," he said and Ada froze in her place, a chill running through her as she heard her
husbands name. Sure, she wanted out of the marriage but
not like this.
