Bittersweet Revenge
Part 5
I heard the van door slam
and I winced at the sound. I was kneeling on the van floor, enshrouded in
darkness. The panic in me was building and I felt like I was going to lose
control. I was claustrophobic, but it I could handle small spaces. It was more
the feeling of being restricted that freaked me out. Not only was I bound, but
I couldn’t open my mouth or see. I knew Brian was somewhere near me in the same
predicament, but that didn’t make me feel any better. In fact, it made me feel
worse.
The van lurched forward,
causing me to lose my balance. Since I couldn’t put my hands out to balance
myself, I fell sideways. I braced myself for the van floor to hurt, but instead
I landed against something a little softer. It jarred my newly sore (again)
ribs anyway and I let out a muffled cry. Losing my grip on my fight to stay
calm didn’t help matters at all and my heart pounded harder. I choked back a
sob. The muffler on the van was messed up because it was making a lot of noise
and I could barely hear Brian. Of course his voice was muffled too. I tried to
right myself and after much maneuvering I managed to sit with my back against
the back of the van wall, my knees drawn up to my chest. I scarcely heard
shuffling and then a shoulder pressed up against mine. Instinctively I tensed,
but quickly realized it was Brian. I shifted my bound hands to the left and
found his. He returned the squeeze and the panic eased just a little. Of
course, despair filled its place. Despair from the situation Brian and I were
in and especially what was going to happen when Marcus found out that Nick was
still alive.
~*~*~*~*~
“No! ‘If and when you
can’?! Nick, you can’t go! You know as well as I do what is going to happen
when Marcus sees you. My God, why couldn’t you have just stayed away like I
told you too?!” Kevin ranted, desperately.
Nick held onto the wall
in front of the door. “Kev, Marcus’ friend said that if I didn’t do exactly
what he said, he would kill Lizz or Brian. I can’t let that happen.”
“What’s to say he will
stick to his word and won’t harm them if you do surrender yourself?” Kevin
reasoned.
“I don’t know, but I am
not taking that chance.” Nick said flatly. He was scared to go to Marcus’ room,
but he was even more scared of the consequences. The seizure had stopped, but
he was still shaking, probably from the exhaustion. “Trust me, it’ll work out.
Besides you know you can’t just leave AJ in here. I have to do this.” Nick
tried to convince Kevin, along with reassuring himself.
Kevin looked pained. He
glanced at the door and then at AJ. “Call me as soon as you can. I’ll figure
something out.”
Nick nodded shakily and
slipped out the door, still holding onto the wall. Kevin’s heart was beating
wildly and he wondered if he had done the right thing. His mind racing, he
rushed to AJ’s side and started to pat his face gently.
“Come on buddy. I need
you to wake up. Wake up man.” He coaxed.
AJ moaned and reached a
hand up to the back of his head. “Wha- what happened?” He croaked.
“AJ, you were hit over
the head. Do you remember anything?” Kevin asked anxiously.
AJ wrinkled up his face.
“That maintenance guy, he wasn’t really...holy shit! That other guy...” His
eyes opened a little wider and he winced at the movement.
Kevin sighed. “It’s a
long story and I don’t have time to explain it to you now. Nick is
alive. He and Lizz have been living under aliases to hide from Marcus. I’ll
explain later, but right now he is in trouble and so is Brian and Lizz.” Kevin
explained hurriedly. “Marcus’ friend kidnapped Brian and Lizz and told Nick to
surrender himself to Marcus or Bri and Lizz die. Nick just left for his room.”
“That sonofabitch!”
AJ started to sit up.
“Whoa, you got hit pretty
hard. Take it easy.” Kevin urged, pulling AJ up carefully.
“You let him go in
there?!” AJ glared at Kevin accusingly.
“What else could I do?
That guy told Nick if anything goes out of plan, Brian and Lizz will get
killed!” Kevin defended. He grabbed a new washcloth and put it on the back of
AJ’s head. The other one was on the floor, tinged red.
AJ flinched away from the
pressure Kevin put on his head. “And Nick is going to get killed by Marcus!
Let’s go!” He took the washcloth from Kevin and held it himself. Then he stood
up, but started to teeter.
Kevin grabbed him. “You
stay here and call Howie. I’m going to find Nick.”
AJ nodded and picked up
the phone. He didn’t even bother calling Howie’s room, but dialed his cell
instead. Satisfied that AJ was staying put and that Howie would be on his way,
Kevin hurried out the door. AJ groaned when Howie’s voice mail clicked on after
the first ring. He was on the damn thing! “Howie! Get down to my room now! We
have a big pr--”
AJ was cut off by a loud
crash and yelling. It was coming from right across the hall. Without thinking
twice, he slammed the phone down and made his way to the room.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Nick nervously went through
the slightly ajar door. He went into the small living room of the suite and
into the bedroom. Marcus was sitting with his back to him, on the edge of the
bed. This better work... Nick thought to himself.
“Yo, Marcus. You okay
man?” He tried to make his voice have a sharp edge to it. It was hard seeing as
how it wasn’t very stable.
Marcus turned around
slowly. “Who the hell are you? Where’s Vinnie? And where’s my girl?”
Nick resisted the urge to
hit him. “Your girl?” He questioned carefully.
“Yeah I was gonna fuck
her six ways till Sunday. She fuckin left.” Marcus noted sourly. “You didn’t
answer my first question. Who the hell are you?”
Nick clenched his fists.
“Ah, I’m uh, Vinnie’s cousin, Frankie.” Nick thought
quickly. Soonest chance he got, he was taking Marcus down.
“Vinnie doesn’t have any
cousins.” Marcus stated.
“Yeah, well we don’t talk
all that much. He called me the other day and told me what was going on. He
figured I would have a few good ideas on how to have even more fun with y’alls friends.” Nick bluffed. He decided to stroke Marcus’
ego. “Nice work on Carter, by the way. You are quite the pro at this shit aint ya?”
Marcus grinned. If this
guy knew about him killing Carter, then he must be okay. Vin wouldn’t tell just
anyone. “He left awhile ago to go fuck around with that skinny little freak and
probably Carter’s pathetic friend. Man, you shoulda seen the bitch I had in
here. I woulda shared her. Her sister was coming up too, I wonder what the hell
happened to her, but when I see her again...” Marcus trailed off, leaning into
the bed.
With a sudden rush a
adrenaline and a vicious cry, Nick leapt at Marcus. “I AM NOT GOING TO LET YOU
FUCKING HURT MY FRIENDS EVER AGAIN! THIS FUCKING ENDS NOW YOU FUCKING PIECE OF
SHIT!” He screamed. Marcus was taken completely by surprise and Nick used that
to his advantage. Blow after blow, he aimed at Marcus. Nick felt a crunch when
his fist connected with Marcus’ nose. Marcus yowled in pain, but finally
regained his senses. He used his massive size to throw Nick off of him and
began his own attack. They both struggled to their feet.
“WHAT THE HELL?!” Marcus
screamed at Nick.
Nick didn’t answer. The
adrenaline fled him as quick as it came and he braced himself on the edge of
the desk that was in there. Marcus bounded over to him and punched him hard in
the gut. “I WANT ANSWERS!” He yelled, the pounding in his head from the
hangover made him even angrier.
“Fuck you.” Nick
whispered.
Marcus snarled and lunged
at him, attempting to strangle him. Nick coughed and gasped, but couldn’t get
Marcus off.
Just then the door burst
open and Kevin flew in. He came to a dead stop when he saw Marcus’ hands around
Nick’s neck. “LET HIM GO!” He bellowed.
Marcus jumped back in
surprise. “You! What are you doing in here.” The cloudiness from his hangover
wouldn’t let him make the connection.
Nick struggled to a
sitting position on the floor, his hands wrapped around his already bruising
neck. He removed one hand to wipe the blood from his mouth.
Kevin’s eyes widened and
then narrowed into angry slits. “Get away from him.” He said evenly.
Immediately the door flew
open again and AJ burst through. “Nick?” He said uncertainly, staring at him.
Marcus’ head whipped
around. “Nick? It isn’t possible. What the fuck IS GOING ON HERE?!” His
voice raised as he darted his face between Nick’s and AJ and Kevin’s in the
doorway.
Nick still didn’t say
anything.
“Holy shit. It is you,
isn’t it? I already killed you once! I guess I will just have to do it again!”
He lunged at Nick once again, attacking him with all his might.
“NO!” Kevin and AJ both
lunged for Marcus. Kevin reached first and tried to pull Marcus off. He finally
got a good hold and yanked him off Nick. Kevin wrapped his arm around Marcus’
throat, trying to cancel his resistance. It didn’t take much. Marcus was still
suffering from the effects of the alcohol and promptly passed out. AJ locked
the door and then Kevin made him sit down on the other bed. AJ argued, but
finally gave in when he realized his head felt like it was going to explode.
Not to mention the blood that was everywhere, most of it Nick’s, was making him
queasy. Kevin tended to the unconscious Nick, lifting him onto the other bed.
He was a mess and would be in a helluva amount of pain when he woke up, but
nothing seemed to be life-threatening. Howie got to the room about 15 minutes
later. Kevin briefly explained the whole situation. AJ and Howie had a good
shock, but both of them tried to focus on the matter at hand. They couldn’t go
to the police because Brian and Lizz were still in jeopardy. All they could do
was wait.
~*~*~*~*~
The van stopped again,
but this time the engine turned off. We’d reached our destination. My body
tensed and I squeezed Brian’s hand tighter. Neither of us said anything, but again,
we both flinched when the van door slid open and cruel laughter was heard.
“Damn, you two are
pathetic aren’t ya?” Vinnie mocked. His voice grew closer and I knew he was
coming towards us. Brian let out a muffled yelp and the shoulder I was leaning
on was suddenly jerked away. I started yelling in protest, but the tape
prevented it from being intelligible.
“Shut up!” I didn’t even
know what hit me, but out of nowhere, I was backhanded across the face.
I whimpered, but didn’t
make another sound. Brian was yelling behind his gag too, but the sound was
growing farther and farther away. Where was Vinnie taking him? I dared not move
for fear of another smack. That and the fact, I had no idea where we were. I
forced myself not to make a sound. A door slammed not too far away and then all
I heard were the nighttime crickets and acadas.
“You gonna cooperate with
me now?” The voice made me jump and I cursed my blindfold. My nerves were shot
and I hated not knowing what was going on. I cried out when a rough arm circled
around mine and pulled me out of the van. I stumbled and would have fallen, but
Vinnie yanked me up again. My legs felt like jello,
but I willed myself not to fall again. He shoved me forward and again, I had to
fight panic. One of my biggest, and probably most irrational, fears was having
to walk where I couldn’t see. Even if I was in a big open gym, if it was dark,
I couldn’t move. Almost like I was afraid something would magically appear in
front of me. Something I would hurt myself on or a huge hole I would fall into.
Crazy, but it was a paralyzing fear nonetheless. My knees locked and I couldn’t
move.
“What the hell is your
problem?!” Vinnie growled as he shoved me. Panicked tears started to fall and I
crumpled to the ground. “Oh for...” He grumbled. I felt him physically pick me
up and carry me. I didn’t know whether to be relieved or even more scared. We
climbed a couple steps and went into what I assumed was a house. We twisted a
couple times and then he opened another door. We went down some stairs and then
he dumped me out of his arms. I cried out again, but another pair of arms
steadied me before I fell.
“You deal with her. She
is too much of a pain in the ass, I am gonna kill her if I have to spend
another second with her.” Vinnie snarled. I heard footsteps fade away and the
door slam.
“Lizz, sh-h-h-h. You’re okay.” Brian soothed. I felt his hands
work the ropes around mine. A moment later I was freed. I immediately pulled
the blindfold off and then ripped the tape from my mouth. That made me wince
too. Of course that might have been from my now slightly swollen cheekbone.
“Brian...” I choked out,
tears coming again.
He wrapped his arms
around me. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get through this. Lizz, look at me.”
He pulled back and tipped my chin so I was looking at him. “We have to be
strong okay?”
I nodded. “Where are we?”
My voice was barely above a whisper.
“I don’t have any idea. A
basement as far as I can tell.” He replied, looking around.
I looked around too. A
single light hung from the ceiling. The floor was cement and there were no
windows. Brian and I were both sitting on an old cot. A rough looking army
blanket was folded at one end, a stained pillow at the other. Off to the side
of the room was a half flight of steps going up, I guess to the rest of the
house. I ducked my head down and rubbed my sore wrists. Rope burns, how nice.
“I’m sorry for falling
apart like that.” I said softly to Brian.
“No need to apologize. I
wasn’t too far behind.” He smiled a little.
“I just lost it though.
Between not being able to see or move or anything and then...I dunno, I have
this crazy phobia where I can’t walk where I can’t see.” I explained somewhat
sheepishly.
“It isn’t that crazy. Who
would like to walk where they couldn’t see?” Brian reassured me.
I explained to him the
open gym thing, which had actually happened many years ago. He laughed a little
when I told him that and that made me smile too. “So now what?”
“I don’t know. I’m sure
we will find out soon enough.” Brian sighed. He looked paler than a ghost and I
could plainly see the toll this was taking on him. Couldn’t those idiots have
at least waited till he was a little better?
Neither one of us spoke
for awhile, but finally I had to say what I couldn’t get out of my mind. “Do
you think Nick is okay?”
Brian actually winced at
the question. “Can you feel anything?”
I almost smiled. He was a
little unsure about the whole link thing, but he asked me if I was feeling anything
pretty often. I’d tried to ask myself the same question, but I didn’t know. The
almost-smile became a deep frown.
“I don’t even know. I
have been so scared since we got taken away and I don’t know if it is all me or
him too and we are bouncing off each other. Wouldn’t be the first time that
happened. I would like to think I could feel it if...if he...” I couldn’t even
finish the thought.
“Let’s not think about
that okay?” Brian said softly.
I nodded.
The door flew open and
banged up against the wall, causing us both to jump at the loud sound. I was
sitting closer to the door than Brian was, but he immediately scooted over so
he was between me and the door. I wasn’t happy with that idea because if it
came down to it, I would get between Vinnie and any harm that he was going to
inflict towards Brian.
“Time for a little
reunion my friends.” Vinnie walked slowly towards us. He had this horrible
cocky grin, knowing we wouldn’t try anything.
“What do you mean?” Brian
asked warily.
Vinnie whipped out his
cell phone. “Time to call Marcus and have him bring Carter here so he can join
the fun. Maybe Freak will come so I can finish up what I started on him.”
I narrowed my eyes and
opened my mouth. Before I could utter a sound, Brian reached a hand back and squeezed
mine. Hard. Okay, okay, I’ll keep my mouth shut...for now. He knew me too well.
Vinnie dialed a number
and held the phone to his ear, all the while, his grin growing bigger.
~*~*~*~*~
updated:
Kevin shook his head as he paced the room. Marcus was sprawled out on the floor
at the foot of the bed, snoring loudly from his drunken stupor and Nick was
still unconscious on a bed.
“I don’t know what to do,” Kevin sighed.
“How about we involve the police,” Howie suggested.
“NO!” AJ and Kevin answered quickly, followed by AJ moaning from the yell,
causing his head to throb.
“No, listen, we explain the entire situation to the police, they’ll work along
with us and probably suggest a few things that we can do to make sure Nick,
Lizz and Brian aren’t harmed in any way. It makes good sense to me,” Howie
explained.
“You know, it does make sense,” Kevin agreed and then narrowed his eyes at
Marcus’s body laying on the floor. “But remember, we have to make this
perfectly clear that we were told about no police involvement, agree?”
Howie and AJ gave slight nods and watched as Kevin dialed the hotel operator
and requested the Oklahoma State Police.
~*~*~*~*~
As quickly as Vinnie’s smile appeared on his face, it
turned sour. He tore the cell phone away from his ear and clicked it off.
“THAT SONOFABITCH IS PLAYING AROUND!” Vinnie yelled.
Brian and Lizz both jumped at his sudden outburst.
“He’s probably still passed out,” Lizz pointed out. She shied away when Vinnie
raised an open hand towards her, but Brian quickly stepped in front of her to
shield her from her attacker.
“Maybe so, but Carter should have answered the phone. I told him to go crawling
down to that room. What a pathetic sonofabitch,” Vinnie
mumbled.
Both Lizz and Brian exchanged worried glances, both wondering if this meant
that Marcus had done something to Nick or was in the process of doing something
to him. Lizz tried to see if she could feel anything that Nick could possibly
be feeling with the link that they shared, but all she felt was the knot that
had been in her stomach for the past four hours.
“Well, I guess we’ll give Marc the benefit of the doubt and give him some
time,” Vinnie said as he settled down in an old, dark stained chair that was
situated against the wall opposite of Brian and Lizz.
*~*~*~*~
State Troopers Jordan and McKnight were new on the state police force, fresh
out of the academy. Although it was unusual to have two rookies working side by
side, due to a scheduling glitch, they were thrown together. Making their way
to the fourth floor, they anxiously knocked on the door to room where the
request for help had been made.
After hearing a lock click, the door slowly opened and they stood before Kevin
Richardson. He managed to paste a thin smile on his face as he opened the door
further and nodded for them to come in.
Trooper Jordan eyes swept the room, first noticing an obese, shirtless man
laying on the floor, evidently passed out. A younger man laid on the bed, dried
blood spattered on his shirt, an eye that was bruised and swollen looking as
well as a few scrapes on his face and hands from an obvious fight that had
taken place. Another man was over in the corner, looking pale and disheveled,
holding a towel to the back of his head and neck.
“Okay, explain the situation once again to us,” Trooper McKnight directed the
question towards Kevin.
As Kevin explained the story up to the point of where they were at, one of the
officers was furiously scribbling down notes to everything that was being said.
Kevin ended the details with, “We need to do this without anyone getting hurt
and without any obvious signs of police involvement.”
“The one guy threatened to kill either Brian or Lizz if we got the police involved,
so you can see how important this is,” Howie added.
The ringing phone interrupted their conversation. Trooper McKnight told Kevin
to answer.
“Yeah.”
“Who’s this?” Vinnie questioned.
Kevin looked at the officer, and nodded when he understood the meaning of him
pointing over at Nick.
“It’s Carter,” Kevin stated gruffly.
“Oh yeah, Lazarus, how the fuck are you?” Vinnie hissed. “Put Marcus on.”
“He can’t, he’s still drunk.”
“Sonofabitch,” Vinnie muttered.
“Sonofabitch is right. Now, here’s the deal, we have
something you want and you have something we want,” Kevin stated in an even
tone.
Vinnie’s eyes widened. “Oh shit, where’s Marcus?”
“Still passed out on the floor. Now, I need to know how Brian is, he is okay?”
Kevin asked. The trooper had already gotten the phone lines tapped, so they
needed roughly three minutes to find out the location of where Vinnie was
calling from. After the call was into one minute, the officer held his hands up
in the air and shook his head. With Vinnie being on a cell phone, Kevin could
talk to him for five hours and it still wouldn’t pinpoint the man’s
whereabouts.
“Brian’s fine and so’s that girl, for now,” Vinnie
warned.
“You touch so much as a hair on their heads and you will pay for it with your life,”
Kevin hissed.
One of the state troopers gently placed a hand on Kevin’s shoulder, hoping that
he would get the hint to calm down. Kevin relaxed a bit, but his jaw was still
set with determination. “So, where are you so we can make the exchange?”
“What makes you think I’m interested in Marcus’s sorry ass?” Vinnie cackeled.
“I... I don’t know,” Kevin stammered. “Please, all I want is the two of them
back alive, I swear I will leave you alone, please tell me what you want.”
“Ah, I hear the sweet sound of desperation seeping into your voice,” Vinnie
laughed.
Kevin sighed. “Yeah, I admit it, I’m desperate. Now, please, can you tell me
where to meet you?”
Vinnie was silent for the longest time. Minutes seemed like an eternity. Kevin
resisted the urge to speak during that time, instead he strained to hear any
type of background noise that could possibly lead them to their hiding place.
“How about I think about this for a minute, I mean, you’re probably tired of
Marc and all, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to give them up. I mean, I really
haven’t had time to fully enjoy their company,” Vinnie stated, the last words
he pronounced with a little crisper tone in his voice and then suddenly, Kevin
heard the sickening sound of flesh being driven into flesh and Brian’s crying
out.
“Please, for the love of.....” Kevin gave up speaking when he heard the
distinct sound of a click followed by a dialtone.
“What happened?” AJ questioned as soon as Kevin placed the phone back onto the
receiver.
“He said he needed to think about it because he didn’t have time to enjoy their
company and then it sounded like he punched Brian,” Kevin replied in a monotoned voice.
“That bastard!” AJ growled.
“Did you hear any background noises that would help us out?” Trooper McKnight
asked.
Kevin sadly shook his head. “No, nothing.”
~*~*~*~*~
I heard AJ’s foul mouth when I woke up. My first thought was ‘why the hell are
they in my room when I’m trying to sleep’ which was quickly replaced by the
reality of the fight I had with Marcus and Brian and Lizz being kidnapped.
“Hey,” I croaked. My voice still sounded for shit, I knew it was something I
would have to definately work on again once this mess
was overwith.
“Shit, Nick, stay down,” AJ said quietly as he rushed up to the bed and stared
down at me.
“No, we have to save Lizz and Brian,” I protested with a waivering
voice as I struggled to sit up.
“Marcus knocked you out, you probably have a concussion,” Kevin stated.
“I’m fine,” I said as I ignored the pounding headache when I sat up.
“Okay, what year is this?” Howie quizzed.
I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to think of the year. I couldn’t remember
that so I replied as best as I could. “Fuck you.”
“Okay, how about the president and the vice president?” Howie pressed.
“That would be fuck you and fuck you,” I stated dryly.
“He’s checked out okay from his own standards,” Howie declared.
The phone started ringing and I didn’t hesitate when I reached over and grabbed
it off the hook. “Yeah.”
“Who’s this?” the man with a bad
“I don’t have time to play fuckin games, you know exactly who this is. Where
the hell are you, I’m turning myself over to you in exchange for Lizz and
Brian. Tell me where you are and I’ll meet you with Marcus.”
“I see that someone in the group finally has some sense,” Vinnie gushed. “Okay,
we’re in the basement of a place on
Vinnie didn’t say anything but I got the gist of it when I heard a fist landing
on flesh and Brian’s muffled cry out from the pain.
“I’ll take care of this, please don’t do anything else to them, save your
energy for me, you’re gonna need it,” I stated quickly.
“Hurry, don’t make your friends wait,” Vinnie sneered and clicked off the cell
phone.
I slammed the phone down and turned to leave when Howie stepped in front of me.
Determined, I stepped around him but he stepped to the right with me.
“Get out of my way Howie.”
“Nick, you can’t go there, he’ll kill you,” Kevin reasoned.
I turned to face Kevin. “If that’s what they both want, I have to do this to
protect my friends.”
“And die in the process?”
“If that’s what’s needed to protect them, then that’s the way it has to be.”
Setting my jaw, I stepped around Howie and over to where Marcus laid.
AJ stepped up. “You’re not going alone.”
Both Howie and Kevin indicated that they would be going with me too.
“Thanks guys,” I whispered.
~*~*~*~*~
After Vinnie hung the phone up, he balled his fists up and delivered another
blow to Brian’s stomach. Brian dropped to his knees, coughing and gasping for
air.
“STOP IT!” Lizz cried out. “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO HIM?”
Brian looked over at Lizz as he gasped for air. He mouthed the word “quiet” in
between coughs but the stubborn streak she possessed wouldn’t allow her to be
quiet.
“You’re wearin’ on my nerves, SHUT THE FUCK UP!”
Vinnie hissed as he backhanded Lizz across the cheek. “Ya know, I’m just
considering this a little warm up before Carter comes to rescue you two. I’ve
got a bigger surprise for him.”
Vinnie’s gaze hardened as he produced a shiny gun.
“I’ve been waiting to use this for some time, this will be fun.”
final update:
“No! You’ll have to kill
me first!” I cried, my voice shaking. Vinnie’s blow
had knocked me off my feet and I laid on the floor, my cheek burning. It was
the same one he had hit earlier.
“I might do that.” Vinnie
threatened, aiming the gun at me.
“No, please don’t.
She’ll...” Brian pleaded, only to get cut off by Vinne.
“She’ll shut up is what
she’ll do.” Vinnie snapped, still holding the gun at me. He cocked the lever
and stepped over to where I had managed to pull myself to where I was at least
sitting instead of laying down. I was paralyzed with fear as I watched him
press the gun up against my forehead.
“NO!” Brian shouted,
moving towards us, only to get knocked away from another blow from Vinnie.
“BOOM!” Vinnie shouted,
causing me to jerk violently. He snickered and started to walk away. As he
passed Brian, he kicked him spitefully in the side. “I think we are expecting
company, stay out of trouble kiddies.” He sing-songed before he slammed the
basement door behind him.
“Are you okay?” I
whispered, crawling over to Brian.
He was laying on the
ground still, one arm wrapped around his side. “Are you ever going to learn
Lizz?” He asked wearily.
“I’m scared.” I
whispered.
“I know, so am I.” Brian
agreed softly.
~*~*~*~*~
Nick tried unsuccessfully
to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. He was riding in
“What if something goes
wrong?” Nick asked again.
Kevin sighed. Just like
the first two times Nick asked that question, he didn’t know how to answer it.
There was a very big possibility that something could go wrong. He was totally
uncomfortable with the plan, but he knew that there was no other way around it.
After all, he wasn’t even supposed to be there. Marcus was still out of it,
cuffed in the back seat with Kevin. Nick twisted around in his seat.
“Well whatever happens, I
don’t care as long as Brian and Lizz get out of there okay.” Nick stated
stubbornly.
“We’re getting you out
too.” Kevin said softly.
“Okay, we clear on the
plan?”
“What if they aren’t
released?” Kevin countered.
Kevin and Nick nodded
solemnly. Fifteen minutes later they were about four houses down from the
address Vinnie had supplied. McKnight drove his car to four houses on the
opposite side and parked. The tinted windows kept the three inside from being
seen and nothing looked out of the ordinary. Jordan and Kevin hefted Marcus out
of the car and leaned him up against the wooden fence that his the side of
someone’s yard. Nick got out slowly, his movements stiff from the beating he
took. Not to mention he hadn’t gotten enough rest to replenish his energy from the
seizure. He looked exhausted still, but determined.
“Alright, we are going to
go back to the car. As soon as we get in, try to wake Marcus up and tell
him...”
“...we were brought by a
taxi, I know, I know.” Nick cut
Nick nodded. Kevin
stepped forward and wrapped him in a quick hug. “Good luck Nick.” He said
softly, his voice choked with emotion.
“Thanks.” Nick tried to
smile, not only to reassure Kevin, but to reassure himself.
Kevin and Jordan walked
back to the car, getting in silently.
“I have great misgivings
about this.” Kevin said, rubbing his eyes, watching Marcus and Nick.
“Get up! Marcus wake up!”
Nick nudged Marcus again.
Marcus groaned and
finally opened his eyes. “What the hell is going on here?” He snarled. “Where the
hell am I?”
Nick took a deep breath.
“We are almost in front of Vinnie’s house. It’s after
Marcus took a couple
minutes to let it all digest. “And how did we get here?”
“Taxi.”
Marcus seemed satisfied
with that reply. “Okay then Carter, what are we waiting for?” He pulled himself
to his feet and Nick stood up with him. Without warning he pulled a knife out
of his pocket and thrust it at Nick. “No playin any shit Carter.” He warned.
Nick almost laughed. “I surrendered myself to you, doesn’t that pretty much say
I am going to cooperate, dumbass?” He snapped.
Marcus let that one
slide. “Let’s go.” They walked slowly towards the house and Marcus banged on
the door.
A moment later, the door
opened a crack and Vinnie poked his head out. “You two alone?”
“Yes.” Nick lied.
Vinne swung the door open and swooped
his hand in greeting. “See what I tell you about drinking so much Marc? This
has been such as hassle.” He turned and punched Nick. “That’s for the hassle.
Your friends are a pain in the ass, especially Lizz.”
Nick didn’t reply, but
rubbed his jaw gingerly.
“You know we aren’t
turning them loose don’t you?” Vinnie sneered.
“What?! That was the
deal. We are trading me for them!” Nick pleaded. “Please, let’s just stick with
the plan.”
Marcus snorted. “Two for
one isn’t even a fair trade. How about we let one of them go. Which one would
you pick Carter?”
Nick visibly paled.
“No...no, I can’t. You can’t make me choose.” He stammered.
Marcus and Vinnie both
cracked up. “Oh don’t worry, neither one of them are leaving. I just wanted to
see you shit your pants. ” Marcus smirked at how easily he managed to shake up
Carter.
“Let’s take him to his
friends and we can figure out our plan after that.” Vinnie suggested.
Marcus nodded and grabbed
Nick’s arm roughly. Nick tried to remember every detail about the house he was
in. At first it surprised him that they hadn’t bothered to blindfold him. Then
his heart dropped when he realized he wouldn’t be leaving.
~*~*~*~
Brian and I had moved
over to the cot as soon as Vinnie had left us. I was worried to death about
Brian. He didn’t look like he was faring too well and Vinnie’s
repeated blows didn’t help matters. The door banged open, startling us yet
again
. “Got someone here who
wants to see you!” Vinnie grinned as he came through the door. I held my breath
and then gasped when Nick stumbled onto the landing. Marcus appeared behind
him, grinning maliciously. Instinctively I shrank back.
“My God...” Brian
murmured, getting up as fast as he could. Marcus gave another shove and Nick
tumbled down the short flight of steps.
“Nick!” I cried, rushing
towards him, my fear of Marcus forgotten. We both reached Nick and dropped down
to him. The fall stunned him and he blinked repeatedly, trying to clear his
vision.
My heart ached as my eyes
fell on his bruises and scrapes. I brushed my fingers over his throat, dark
bruises in the shape of fingers wrapping around it. “You bastard!” I hissed.
“What did you do to him?” I glared up at Marcus.
When he got a look at me,
his jaw dropped. “You’re Lizz?! Holy fuck, all this time...it was you!!”
I glared back up at him.
“All along.” I agreed.
“Nick, come on buddy.”
Brian had one of Nick’s hands, in his own. “Can you get up?” Brian was looking
back and forth worriedly between Nick and the expression on Marcus’ face when
he recognized me.
Vinnie looked shocked as
well. “Wait wait wait! Is
this the bitch you were talking about?!”
Marcus nodded wordlessly.
Then he turned to Vinnie and began talking heatedly.
“Are...you guys...okay?”
Nick whispered, the wind knocked out of him from the fall.
“We’re fine. We just have
to find a way out of this mess.” Brian whispered.
“Nick, Vinnie has a gun.
He...” I whispered urgently, but stopped, unable to finish.
Brian and I carefully
pulled Nick up. “Marcus said he isn’t going to let you guys go.” Nick said, his
voice full of despair. “The rest of the guys, plus two cops are waiting
outside. They said they are coming in if you guys aren’t out there in twenty
minutes.”
Brian widened his eyes.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
“Time for a little fun.”
Marcus suddenly announced as he started walking down the stairs towards us.
Before I could react he grabbed my arm, jerking me with him as he started back
up the steps. “NO!” I cried, panicking.
“LET HER GO!” Nick
hollered, charging at Marcus. I turned to see both him and Brian coming to my
defense.
“I think not.” Vinnie
stated as he jumped in front of Nick, gun pointed.
“Stop please! You got
what you want. Don’t do this!” Nick pleaded. The look of horror in his eyes
matched the terror I was feeling.
“Hey, I have a better
idea. How about we let them watch!” Marcus laughed. He shoved me up against the
wall of the basement, making me gasp. I struggled against him, but he was too
big. “Come on Lizz, you know you want this.” He breathed in my face, pressing his
body up against mine.
“No! Let me go!” I
screamed. I managed to shift myself enough to get my foot free and I kicked his
shin with all my might.
“Damn it!” He groaned.
“You want it rough, do’s ya?” He grabbed at the shoulder of my maid’s uniform
and yanked hard. The tear Nick had made earlier was suddenly twice as big and
falling off my shoulder. I struggled harder, but when I looked up, I ceased all
movement.
With Vinnie aiming his
attention at keeping Nick from killing Marcus, Brian wasn’t being watched. With
a yell of anger, Brian launched himself airborne at Vinnie, effectively
knocking them both on the ground away from Nick. The gun went skidding across
the floor. Because of Brian’s already weakened condition, he had hurt himself
when they both crashed into the floor. Vinnie took full advantage and further
used his fists to add to the damage. Nick grabbed Vinnie and yanked him off the
already unconscious Brian. Nick held Vinnie by the shirt with one hand and
punched him hard with the other.
“Brian!” I cried, shoving
away from Marcus. Being too distracted with what was going on behind us, Marcus
didn’t stop me from backing away. The gun was to our left on the ground and I
lunged at it.
“Oh no you don’t!” Marcus
snarled, lashing out his fist at me. He had something in his hand, but I didn’t
see what it was. Then the pain became very real and I stumbled back. I looked
down and was amazed to see a stripe of blood quickly form slightly diagonally
across my ribcage. The pain of it made me dizzy and I reached me hand back to
the wall behind me to catch myself.
“Lizz! Are you okay?” The
panic in Nick’s voice scared me a little and I wondered how bad it was. I
gingerly put my other hand over the growing red spot and to my dismay, it was
flowing freely.
“I - I...” I gasped. I
broke away from the gaze I held with Nick to see Marcus bending over and
grabbing the gun.
Nick looked up from Vinnie’s slumped form and his eyes grew to saucers. Marcus
had righted himself and was aiming the gun straight at Nick’s heart. “Say
good-bye Carter.” He said flatly, pulling the trigger.
Without even realizing
what I was doing, before Marcus had even aimed the gun, I was moving. I threw
myself at Marcus and grabbed his arm just as the gun fired. I watched in horror
as Nick crumpled to the ground, his face a mask of pain. Everything moved in
slow motion and just before Nick hit the ground, his eyes met mine. Never,
would I forget the look that was in his eyes, just before they closed. I don’t
even know how to describe it, but it broke something deep inside of me.
“Nick! No!” Sobs choked
my throat. “Oh God, please! NICK!”
Marcus stood there,
unable to believe that he had just done it. He had fatally shot Carter. Just
like that it’s all over, Marcus thought, staring in wonderment.
My body, coursing with
rage and grief, took control of itself. I was merely trapped inside as it
lunged again for the gun. This time, however, I made contact and my fingers
wrapped around it. Marcus was caught totally off guard, but regained his senses
quickly. We struggled for possession of the gun and I barely heard new voices
behind me. Voices that screamed for Marcus to surrender the gun. Voices crying
out in despair for my two fallen friends.
Somehow in the struggle
of the gun, it ended up between us. And it went off. Marcus’ looked at me in
shock then at the red stain that manifested on his chest. I stared back, not
comprehending. But...how? My hand wasn’t even on the trigger. How could I have
shot him? But there he was, falling to the ground, blood already pooling around
him. I dropped my hold on the gun and it clattered to the floor. Again the fire
in my ribs reminded me that I was hurt and I stumbled, my vision blurring.
“I got you Lizz.” A voice
came, a hand steadying me.
“Nick“ I choked, jerking
away from the help behind me. I lurched forward, wavering unsteadily. Another
pair of hands gently steadied me and I dropped to Nick’s side. Oblivious to the
growing number of people around us, I fell forward, throwing myself across
Nick, sobbing uncontrollably. Then I promptly passed out.
~*~*~*~
I shifted a little and I
felt my eyes flutter open. At first I didn’t see anything, but my immediate
attention was drawn elsewhere. The incredible stiffness of my body when I
barely tried to move. I moaned softly.
“Lizz?”
A dim light flickered on
and AJ’s face hovered above mine. I squinted against the new light. “Wha-?” I
tried, my voice sounding like I had swallowed broken glass.
“Hold on.” AJ said
quietly. He moved from my vision and returned with a paper cup with a straw. He
held it to my lips and I drank the cold water gratefully. It soothed my raw
throat.
“Where am I?” I whispered
weakly. My brain must not have been functioning right because I was drawing a
blank.
“You’re in the hospital.”
AJ stated.
Hospital? I looked
around. There were balloons and flowers on the window sill and bedside table,
cards tacked up on the bulletin board. Then I looked back at AJ. He had a white
bandage on the back of his head. I shifted again, trying to make sense of
everything.
“Am I okay?” I asked,
suddenly worried at how much I hurt.
“You’re going to be fine
Lizz.” AJ assured me, somewhat sadly. That perplexed me. I knew it wasn’t a
sadness that I was going to be okay, but more like someone else wasn’t.
“Oh, okay. Um, where’s
Nick?” I asked, looking around again.
AJ looked away. “He
uh...”
I took in his nervous
look with great trepidation. Then it hit me. “Oh God...” I choked out, the
tears already starting to fall. Everything came back. Brian and I getting kidnapped.
Marcus showing up with Nick. What Marcus was going to do to me. Brian launching
himself at Vinnie. The gun.
“Sh-h-h-h, Lizz.” AJ sat
down on the edge of the bed.
I put my hands over my
face, barely feeling the sting of my swollen cheekbone, and cried brokenly. “Oh
AJ, I tried to save him. I tried to stop Marcus from killing Nick. Oh God,
please help me, I tried.”
“Whoa whoa,
Lizz! Nick isn’t dead! Lizz!” AJ practically shouted.
I looked up. “What? What
do you mean? I - I saw him...” I trailed off, not comprehending.
“Lizz, Nick’s here. He’s
just down the hall. He’s going to be fine.” AJ looked at me, his eyes full of
concern.
I let out my breath in a
whoosh. “He’s okay? Marcus didn’t...” I suddenly felt light-headed. “I have to
see him. AJ, you have to take me to him!”
AJ held his hands up. “Oh
no! You are supposed to stay in bed. No way missy.”
“AJ you know I will do
this with or without your help!” I stated stubbornly.
AJ groaned. “They did
have to stick me in your room didn’t they?” I thought I heard a hint of teasing
in his voice. At least I hoped so.
He left and came back
with a wheelchair. “Are you sure you are up to this?” He asked warily.
“I don’t know.” I
admitted honestly. “But I don’t care.”
AJ came over and helped
me scoot to the edge of the bed. I bit my lip hard against the pain. Almost
immediately I noticed my bare legs. No more bodysuit.
“Can you stand?” AJ shook
me out of my thoughts.
“I’m sure I can.” I said
confidently, but as soon as I did, my knees buckled. Fortunately AJ was hadn’t
let go of me yet and he eased me into the wheelchair. “Good Lord!” I hissed.
“Sure you can.” AJ mocked
teasingly.
“Shut up. What the heck
is wrong with me anyway?” I was a little worried now.
“Well you have been in
bed all day and you went through a lot, so it’s probably normal.” AJ assured
me.
“All day?”
“Yeah, it’s almost 8 at
night.” AJ replied.
“Whoa, it seems like it
was just a few hours ago.” I murmured.
AJ chuckled. “
My eyes widened. “Damn.
So why isn’t my doctor or nurse in here since I just woke up?”
AJ gave me a look.
“Because they don’t know, dumbass. You had me running out the door after a
wheelchair first thing.”
“Oh yeah.” I said
sheepishly.
AJ shook his head, but I
know he was smiling. He reached over on my bed, grabbed one of the blankets and
draped it over my legs. “Brian is okay too right?” I stared up at him.
“Yep, they released him
last night. Y’all were admitted sometime that morning about
I thought about my aching
ribs. I wasn’t so sure about that one. Now that I was sitting upright, the pain
was horrible and I could feel the bulky bandage that went from my chest down to
my waist. “And what about this?” I gestured to my ribs.
“You were sliced open
pretty good.” AJ grimaced. I laughed, immediately regretting it. “Nice choice
of words there. I know that much. Marcus lashed his knife out at me. I didn’t
even know he had it. What I meant was, how bad is it?”
“Oh. They said it was
pretty deep, but you were found before it got life-threatening. I think Brian
said it that it goes a good 8 or 9 inches or so across you. Everything else is
pretty minor.”
I nodded. Ew. Eight or
nine inches?! That’s going to hurt for awhile. I looked down at the rope burns
that were on my wrists. I’m sure I had a part in making them worse by panicking
like I did. And of course there was my pretty bruised cheekbone and black eye
that probably accompanied it. My luck we were going to have a press conference
soon too. New thoughts... “How about your hard head?”
“Getting better.” He
grinned. He struggled to maneuver my wheelchair and IV pole out the door. I was
relieved to see that we weren’t in ICU. There also weren’t security guards
everywhere which was sort of weird to see. I mean, there were a couple, but not
near as many as there were before.
AJ leaned over and
knocked softly on the door.
“Come in.” What sounded
like Brian’s voice called back. I smiled.
AJ pushed open the door
and pushed me in. I’ll never forget how happy I was at that moment when I saw
Nick. He was propped up against several pillows and looked like he was laughing
at something Brian had said. I never thought I was going to see that smile
again. When he turned his head towards me, his eyes just lit up.
“Lizz!” He exclaimed, a
tad on the surprised side.
Brian grinned too,
looking as shocked to see me up.
“AJ!” Kevin tossed a
disapproving look at him.
“Hey she wouldn’t take no
for an answer!” AJ defended.
I looked up at him
pleadingly, nodding my head towards Nick’s bed. AJ shook his head, implying
that I was already on thin ice, but complied. I grinned at him as he locked the
wheels to the chair for me.
“Oh god Lizz I wanted to
go see you so bad, but they wouldn’t let me up. How are you?” Nick looked me
over carefully and I knew he would tell I was struggling a little. Damn link.
“Better now, I thought
you were...” I whispered, choking up. Before my waning strength completely left
me, I pulled myself out of my chair. With a frustrated grunt, AJ rushed to help
me sit down on the side of the bed. I think he thought I was gonna fall. I gave
him a grateful smile.
“How?” I asked.
Nick looked thoughtful a
minute. “It was like everything was happening in slow motion. I saw Marcus
raise the gun and I didn’t even have time to move. I thought for sure I was
going to die. I don’t even know how to explain how I felt. Then I saw you dive
for the gun and you pulled his arm to the side as it went off.”
I closed my eyes, the
picture was so vivid in my memory. “But you did get shot...” I whispered.
“Yeah, instead of going
through my heart, it went right here.”
I opened my eyes and Nick
was pointing on his ride side just up and right of his heart. “Holy shit!
That’s where...”
“I was shot last time, I
know! The bullet hit the scar tissue and didn’t go as deep as it would have. It
hurts like a motha, but it won’t take quite as long
to heal.” Nick finished.
I stared at him in awe
and then threw my arms around him. I wanted to hug him as tight as I could, but
I didn’t think my injury was gonna let me do that. Not to mention, I didn’t
know how bad he was hurt. He looked pretty bruised up other than the white
bandage peeking out the top of his gown. Nick returned the hug and before I
knew it, I was crying. Again.
He smoothed my hair and
just held on like I did. A moment later someone else sat on the other side of
the bed. Another hand rested on my back. I didn’t move, but I knew it was
Brian. We stayed in that tearful, somewhat awkward, but completely comforting
three-way hug for I don’t even know how long. I knew we had a long road ahead
of us and it was going to be really hard, but right then, I couldn’t have been
happier.
The End
***
