Changes

"I still think you should've let me beat on him some more." Robert said, his voice sounding strangely choked.
"Wouldn't solve anything." Blondie replied quietly.
"Oh yes it would."
"Tell me, oh fearless leader, what it would have accomplished?" Tom asked, taking a stab at light-heartedness.
"It would have ME feel better."

Tom let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob. Tre put his head into his hands. Blondie patted the famous drummer on the back.

"Its not your fault, Tre."
"I argued with her."
"Its not why she left."
"I yelled at her."
"She didn't care."
"I never talked to her properly."
"She knew you considered her a friend."
"I never told her how great I thought she was on that damn guitar."
"Tre. She knew."

Watching the two of them, it was easy to see why they'd become such great friends. Blondie was mellow where Tre was wild, Blondie was steady where Tre was spastic.

"Why did she even leave?" Tom asked, looking at Mike.

Mike cursed. He hated the answer he was going to give to that question. As if Billie didn't feel bad enough all ready, the answer to that question was only going to make it worse.

"She...she left because..." He ran a hand through his hair, then looked at his feet. He didn't want to see their faces when he told them.

"Remember the guy I told you about, the guy who attacked us in the alley?" The guy murmured their assent. Mike swore again.

"Well...he basically told her, in very few words, that if she didn't go back home, wherever the fuck home IS, that he'd come after Billie. He'd kill Billie, and I'm assuming that once he was done with Billie he'd come after us."

Dead silence. Billie's face fell. He stood up, grabbed a pack of cigarettes, and stormed out of the room.

"Shit." Mike muttered.
"You can say that again." Tre told him.
"What the hell are we gonna do?" Robert asked, not directing the question to anyone in particular.

The minutes squinched by until Blondie gasped.

"Robert, did she have her cellphone?"
"You think we could just call her up and ask her to come home?"
"No..." Tom said slowly. Tre looked up, watching the exchange. "No...Blondie, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Why don't you enlighten the rest of us, because I'm not following." Robert snapped.
"And I'm just freaking lost." Tre added.
"We could trace the GPS on her phone if she still has it." Blondie explained.
"That can't be legal." Tom muttered.
"If I can hack my way in, I could trace it without them knowing."
"Then let's go."

~~~

"You've missed the drugs, I can tell."

Tony said nothing, concentrating on holding her smoke. Andy smiled, spinning a full needle in his hand.

"This is where you belong, beautiful."

Tony cursed as she blew out the smoke.

"I never belonged here, Andy. I didn't, Marty didn't...even you don't deserve a life like this."
"This is my life. This was you're life, till that idiot Marty told you different. He turned your head with fancy college stories and crap about better things."
"It wasn't crap."
"Shut up. Just shut up."

Quick as a flash, he lashed out and knocked her across the room. Tony tasted blood in her mouth and started laughing.

"You're an idiot. A complete idiot. Do you think they won't come for me?"
"It's been days, sweetness." Andy told her, his voice honey sweet and deceptively caring. "They aren't coming. They just don't care."

Tony stared at him, stared at his eyes. And somehow, maybe it was the drugs looking, but she saw truth.

"Gimme that needle."

~~~

"I'm in." Blondie murmured, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

Robert was pacing nervously. Billie was sitting on the table, watching Robert, absently twirling a pen in his fingers.

"Alright...tracing...tracing...once we got, you guys had better get it down. I can only keep our prescence undetectable for about five minutes afterwards."

Suddenly, the computer beeped, a tiny red light flashing. Robert dashed over to glare over Blondie's shoulder at the computer.

"Downtown New York. Slums...got it! Quick, Tom, write it down!"

Tom scribbled frantically on the wall beside the computer. Blondie rolled his eyes.

"You got it?"
"Yeah."
"Alright. I'm out." He watched as the laptop screen went black.

Then Blondie looked at Tom.

"On the fucking wall?"
"I panicked!"

Then Mike blinked and looked around.

"You guys... Where's Billie?"