The Aviators

“Where’re you going?”

Michelle paused at the front door and looked back as Matt appeared in the kitchen doorway. He and Brian had been sitting in there discussing some lyrics while she was rushing around cleaning. She’d had enough though and decided she needed to get out of the house.

She frowned slightly. “I’m going out, why?”

“No reason.” Matt rubbed at the side of his head, before he said, “Could you do me a favour?”

Michelle’s brows drew together. “Depends.”

“It’s not a big deal…”

“What is it?”

“Check up on Val for me?” Matt kept rubbing at his head.

Michelle noted the anxious expression in the big man’s eyes. It wasn’t obvious, but she’d known him long enough to be able to read his face. It surprised her a little that he would ask her, considering their past. Still he was probably thinking more of Val than what he thought of her. He definitely cared more about her twin than he had ever done anyone else.

She nodded. “Sure, I can do that. Was thinking I’d maybe drop in to see her anyway, since you’re here.”

“Thanks.” The worried look subsided from Matt’s features. “I just don’t like that she’s there by herself.”

Michelle snorted, unable to help herself, “Why didn’t you make her come then?”

“Because I’m not an asshole, Michelle,” he snapped before he turned and stalked back into the kitchen. She followed him and stopped as he leaned against the kitchen bench, glaring at her.

Michelle sighed, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that, Matt.”

He folded his arms, his brow furrowed. “I know,” he conceded in a low tone. “I’m just worried about her. After what happened this morning, with your parents, and everything.”

Brian, who was seated at the kitchen table, looked over and added, as he had heard the conversation through the doorway, “If you’re going over there, you should apologise to her, Chelle.”

Michelle gave her fiancée a look. “I know, Bri.” She turned to grab her purse where it was lying next to the coffee pot. She went through it, looking for her keys. “Is there anything else you wanted me to check while I’m there, Matt?” She didn’t look at him while she asked; knowing if she did it would throw her off.

Matt shrugged, “Val’s pretty good with Bella and shit, so no…just make sure your sister’s okay.”

Michelle nodded. “Okay, well, I’ll be back soon.”

Brian got up and walked over to her; she leaned into him as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Take as long as you need,” he murmured into her hair. She nodded, squeezing his bicep. Then she moved away from him, giving Matt a nod before heading out.

* * * * *

Matt yawned, his jaw cracking a little as he settled back against his chair. Brian looked up at him from the notebook that was opened in front of him.

“Time to call it a night?” he asked, his own voice hoarse.

Matt stretched his arms above his head then crossed them on the table, resting his chin against them. He nodded, his eyelids drooping a little.

“What time is it?”

“Just past nine,” Brian mumbled as he shut the book and rocked back on his chair.

Matt closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply, and then said, “Wonder what’s keeping Chelle?”

His friend lifted his shoulders in a nonchalant gesture. He wasn’t worried about the fact that his girlfriend hadn’t returned. Even though she had told them she wouldn’t be all that long. He trusted Michelle to do whatever she needed to then come back when she was ready. Then again it wasn’t as if he owned her.

“They probably got to chatting about whatever girls chat about.”

Matt frowned at Brian’s statement. “Val doesn’t really know all that shit, though. She’s a slave, remember?”

“Of course, but who better to learn that stuff from, than Chelle?”

“True,” Matt said with a quiet smirk. “She’s the ultimate chick, right?”

“Exactly, she’s the best there is.” Brian had a proud smile on his face. It was obvious he was pleased he’d managed to snag quite a catch.

Matt shook his head at his friend, amused by his comments. He sat up and stretched his arms above his head again, his jaw cracking as he yawned.

“Well, good thing you met her, then.”

Brian cocked an eyebrow at the bigger man. “You think?”

Matt sighed; he recognised the disbelief in his friend’s voice. They both knew how he’d been about the two of them getting together years back. Their friendship was tested to the limits, and they hadn’t talked to each other for a bit. That had relaxed after Matt figured Brian wasn’t going to change his feelings just because it annoyed him.

“Yes,” he finally answered. “I do. Forget what I feel here, Bri.”

“True, I don’t give a shit what you feel about her, anyway.”

“You’re such a good friend,” Matt sneered.

“Always, Shads. Always.”

“Fuck you,” Matt was laughing though, he couldn’t be mad at his friend. Brian rolled his eyes, then frowned, glancing toward the door. “What, Syn?”

“Chelle’s back…” The sound of footsteps had obviously signalled the guitarist and Matt wondered why he hadn’t heard them. Before he could question him though, Brian went on, “But, there’s someone with her.”

Matt leaned back on his chair to see if he could confirm his friend’s statement for himself. The front door opened with a creak and the sound of two sets of shoes echoed on the tiled entrance. Hushed voices filtered toward the kitchen, though he couldn’t discern what was being said. His brow furrowed and then his expression darkened as Michelle entered the room with a person Matt had not expected to see.

“Denmore,” he growled in a questioning tone, as his eyes narrowed at the big man.

JD removed his cap, tossing it on the kitchen table as he parked his ass on the chair opposite the singer. “Sanders. I have some bad news.”

Matt cocked his head to the left. “Bad news?”

“Yeah, Michelle went over to your place and called me straight after.”

“Why the fuck would she be calling you?” Matt asked in a hard voice.

Brian added, sharply, “And how is that bad news?”

JD glanced at the guitarist and said, “That’s not the bad news. What she told me wasn’t too good, though.”

Michelle had gone over to the pantry and was going through the shelves trying not to get drawn into the conversation, but Matt turned toward her and asked, “What’s going on, Michelle?”

She looked over at him and shook her head. “Better he tell you.”

Matt turned his gaze back to the guitar tech. “Talk.” A sense of foreboding had snuck into his mind, but he didn’t want to succumb to it, hoping that whatever he was thinking was not actually the case. If something had happened to Valary…

“Val’s gone,” JD said, his tone was dark. The colour drained from Matthew’s face and his pupils dilated as he tried to get his head around what he’d heard. Though a tiny part of him had thought it were a possibility, he still wasn’t prepared to have that notion confirmed. The guitar tech continued before he could speak. “They left a note.” JD shifted his weight, pulling the item from his pocket and pushing it over the table toward Matt.

Matt just stared uncomprehendingly at him, jaw fallen slack. The only sign that he had taken anything in was the fact that his left hand was balled into a fist so tight that his knuckles were white.

“Shads?” Brian, leaning over, brought his hand in front of his friend’s face and waved it up and down. Matt blinked several times before glowering down at the note. He scanned it several times, taking his time to read the words.

“Who the fuck left this?” Matt bit out, his jaw clenched hard.

JD kneaded at the back of his neck, a nervous gesture. “The Guild…”

Matt’s gaze shot to the other male. “Who, though?”

“Read the signature, Matt.”

Matt did so, and his expression changed even more as his lips drew together in a thin line. “Robert…” his tone was dangerous on the name. JD nodded. Matt relaxed the fist he’d made and slammed the palm of his hand against the table; the wood protested at the rough treatment. “Fuck. I’ll kill him.” He glanced at Brian and Michelle then glared at JD. “I’ll really kill him.”

“Matt, you’re forgetting something.”

Matt growled, “I forget nothing.” He clenched his hand again, banging it against the table top, before he stabbed his finger toward the other man. “Robert’s an asshole, he admitted it himself. I’ll fucking kill him for this.”

JD shook his head. “There’s more to this than you realise, Matt. You just have to trust me on that.”

“Hah, trust you?” Matt rolled his eyes as he rocked back on his chair, giving a disdainful snort. “I don’t fucking think so.”

“Jesus, Sanders, I told you what Robert and I were doing.”

“You didn’t tell me shit, Denmore. Just a lot of crap that I don’t know if I can trust.” Matt rose out of his seat and leaned across the table, his hands planted firmly against the surface. The wood protested beneath his weight as he pressed his palms into it, as he fought not to reach over the table and lash out at the other man. He continued his voice filled with contempt, “You said he worked for The Guild. And he made me hurt Val.”

“It’s a front, Matt,” JD groaned. “We’re on your side. How many times do I need to tell you that?”

Matt’s lip curled as he responded harshly, “You’ll have to keep reminding me, considering I don’t trust you enough.” There was a moment of silence after his statement where JD looked away from the singer only to meet the sharp gaze of the guitarist and then Michelle’s worried face.

“You could try convincing him, y’know,” Brian commented. JD lifted his shoulders in a nonchalant gesture.

Then said, “If he doesn’t want to believe me…”

Matt grunted shaking his head hard. “It’s not that I don’t want to, JD…I just…” He sank back down into his chair and closed his eyes before he finished, “I’m fucking worried about Val. She doesn’t need this shit.” He tilted his head back and looked up at the ceiling as if the white-washed surface held the answers to the current situation. Then he lowered his gaze, rubbing a knuckle in the corner of his eye. “She doesn’t need this…” he repeated in a low voice.

JD scowled, “Did I say she did? I’m just saying you don’t need to get all worked up.”

“Don’t you fucking say that,” Matt snarled back at him.

JD held his hands up to placate the singer. “Look, I understand that you’re worried, and pissed at Rob…but this isn’t all bad. She’s been taken to the Guild which means I can find out what’s going on and do something about it.”

Matt scoffed, “Like what? What the fuck can you do? You said if the Guild found out about how things were with us it would mean disaster for Val.”

JD had no answer to the singer’s angry statement. He knew, and Matt knew, what the rules were. And after the outburst on the radio there was no way the Guild didn’t know about the relationship that was blooming. He shifted his feet on the floor and the soles of his shoes squeaked on the lino. Matt glowered at the sound.

“You can’t do shit, can you?” The accusation in Matt’s voice was evident and again JD had no response, he could only shake his head.

“There’s no legal out. Not yet, at least.”

Matt snorted, but made no other comment. Instead he looked over to Michelle again.

“Why didn’t you call me when you first got there?”

She sighed turning to lean against the kitchen bench. “I had to chase after Bella. She was out the front running around like a mad thing.”

“They left the door open?”

“Obviously. She was really upset. Barking and wouldn’t let me grab her.”

Matt grimaced. “She’s gotten attached to Val.” He propped an elbow against the table, as he thought about that for a moment. Dogs were funny creatures. They showered love on everyone, but they picked up on everything and somehow had the intuition to know when something was wrong, at least within their world. And the fact that someone who was not in Bella’s sphere of influence had removed Val from that same sphere that was not right.

He blinked at his thoughts before laughing at himself. “She’s stupid, though.”

“And not a very good guard dog, either,” Brian pointed out.

Matt nodded absently, smearing his hands over his face. “Fuck.” He lifted his head to look at his friend. “So what do I do about this?”

Brian shook his head, uncertainty in his eyes. Michelle folded her arms but didn’t answer.

JD shifted on his seat and muttered in a low voice, “Just sit tight….”

Matt groaned and placed his head in his hands. “JD…fuck…” He peered at the other man through his fingers; his mind was working overtime, processing the entire conversation. Latching onto what JD had said about being able to find out what was going on, he whispered, voice barely audible, “Help me get her back.”

He hated that he sounded so weak, but having no clue what to do he knew it would be stupid just to flounder in his inadequacy. Didn’t mean he had to like the feeling, but he would accept help if it would bring Val back to him.

JD was apparently sensitive of how the singer felt, because all he said in reply was, “I’m onto it.” Standing, he pulled his cell phone from his back pocket, punched in some numbers then walked out of the room as he spoke to whoever answered his call. “Yeah, Denmore here. I need details on Valary Dibenedetto.”

Matt dropped his head in his hands and exhaled on a rough note. Until JD found out what the deal was, he didn’t want to think about how Val was feeling, but it was hard not to. After the little she had told him of the Guild and his own experience he was anxious as to her state of mind. He could imagine that she’d be terribly afraid, and it angered and saddened him that he couldn’t be there for her.

What Matt really wanted was to find where the Guild was and go down there and kick some asses, particularly that of Robert’s. Actually, Matt wanted to do a whole lot more than that to Robert. Images of the man in pain, caused by him, flashed through the singer’s mind. He felt justified in feeling that way, after being made to put Val in her place, after all the shit that Robert had said about the guidelines… Matt groaned and laid his arms out on the table, and just stared down at his hands, imagining them around the other man’s neck…

Meanwhile, Brian settled his weight back in his chair, observing his friend in anxious silence. Michelle joined him, leaning behind him with her arms around his shoulders. They could only wait now. And hope that everything would be alright.

Notes