Chapter 26

 

“Turn off your headlights, Johnson,” Kessler warned the cop sitting in the driver’s seat of the squad car they were riding in.  It was just after eight that night, and they were nearing Big J’s, the abandoned club where Hope was supposedly being kept at.  A small fleet of police cars followed along behind them. 

 

Kessler had been at the hospital when Nick Carter had been brought in.  He had been shot by Britney Spears, who surprisingly had been working with Justin the entire time.   Julie and Brian had told Kessler that Britney revealed where Brian’s daughter was.  Kessler, along with the local police, had quickly gotten together to go to the club, hoping to find Hope there. 

 

Johnson turned off his headlights, and the cops in the line of cars behind him did the same.  They slowly pulled into the deserted parking lot of the old club, a small, drab looking building.  It was very dark out, for there were no lights on inside the building, which was out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but trees.  There were barely any streetlights around, and the only source of light came from the moon, which shone brightly from the sky.

 

Johnson stopped the car and climbed out, along with Kessler.  They waited until the other cars had parked, and the other cops had climbed out.

 

“Surround the building,” Kessler ordered, his voice low.  “McKinney, you and Tucker come inside with Johnson and I.  The rest of you, stay outside and watch for Timberlake to come out.”

 

The cops nodded.  Then Officers McKinney and Tucker followed Johnson and Kessler towards the entrance of the building. 

 

“You two, go around back,” Kessler whispered to Tucker and McKinney.  “There’s got to be a back or side entrance to go in.  We’ll take the front.”  The two cops nodded and hurried around the small building.  “Let’s move in,” Kessler said to Johnson.  Johnson nodded, and the two of them walked up to the front door.  Without warning, Kessler kicked in the door and burst through, Johnson at his heels.  They both held flashlights, along with their loaded guns, prepared to shoot. 

 

“Spears said the girl was in the basement,” Kessler whispered.  Johnson nodded.  He turned on the flashlight he was carrying and shone it around the large room they were standing in, looking for a door that would lead to the basement.

 

“How about backstage somewhere?” Johnson suggested, his light shining across the room to where there was a small stage.  Kessler nodded, and they hurried onto the stage.  They went behind the dusty curtains to the backstage area, which was empty. 

 

“Hey, over here,” Kessler whispered, motioning to a door to one side of the room they were in.  They both hurried over to it and turned the knob, quietly opening the door.  Kessler grinned when he saw some stairs leading down.  “Jackpot,” he whispered.  He started slowly and softly down the stairs, which creaked ever so slightly.  When he reached the bottom, there was a corner.  Cocking his gun, he pointed it in front of him and slowly peered around the corner.  In the dim light, he saw nothing at first.  He let out a shaky breath and shone his light around the room.  Justin was certainly not there.  But as he looked closer, he saw a little girl lying on small pile of blankets in one corner. 

 

“Come here, Johnson,” he ordered, hurrying over to the child.  She was sound asleep.  The beam of light from Kessler’s flashlight fell across her face, and he saw it was smeared with dark smudges and caked blood.  He couldn’t tell if the blackish marks on her face were bruises or face paint, for Brian had mentioned she had been trick-or-treating when she had been abducted.   And was the blood real blood, or just fake blood?  Kessler didn’t know. 

 

He bent and gently touched the sleeping girl’s shoulder.  She didn’t stir, so he put his gun in its holder, stuffed his flashlight into his jacket pocket, and scooped her up in his arms. 

 

“Come on,” he said to Johnson, starting for the stairs.  He carried Hope up the stairs, Johnson shining his flashlight up the whole time to provide enough light to see.  When they made it upstairs, they found Tucker and McKinney.

 

“Go down and see if you can get some fingerprints or anything,” Kessler ordered, then carried Hope outside, Johnson following. 

 

Once they got to the squad car, Kessler lay the still sleeping Hope across the backseat and climbed into the passenger seat next to Johnson.  Johnson started the car, and they sped off into the night, heading straight for the hospital.

 

When they were nearly half way there, Kessler heard a tiny whimper from the backseat.  He turned around to see Hope slowly sit up and rub her eyes sleepily.  She looked around, confused.

 

“Hi there, sweetheart,” Kessler said, offering her a gentle smile.

 

“Who are you?” Hope asked, her blue eyes wide and frightened.

 

“My name is Officer Kessler,” he replied.  “And this is Officer Johnson.”  He motioned to Johnson.  “We’re policemen.”

 

“I want my mommy and daddy,” Hope said softly.

 

“Don’t worry, we’re taking you to your mommy and daddy right now,” Kessler assured her kindly.

 

She seemed to relax a bit.  “What about the bad man?” she asked.

 

Surely, she meant Justin.  “Don’t worry, honey, the bad man’s not here,” Kessler promised.  He studied her for a moment then asked,  “What did the bad man look like?”

 

Hope’s face scrunched up as she thought about it.  “He had poofy hair,” she finally said. Kessler cracked a smile.  “And there was a lady too,” Hope continued softly.  “She was pretty, but she was kinda mean.”

 

“Did they hurt you, sweetie?” Kessler asked.

 

Hope nodded solemnly.  “The bad man hit me,” she whimpered.  “He yelled too, and he said bad words a lot.”

 

Kessler nodded sympathetically.  “Well, don’t you worry.  The bad man and lady won’t hurt you anymore.”

 

Hope sank back against the seat and yawned.  By the time they made it to the hospital, she had fallen asleep again.

 

***

 

I sat next to Sammy in the waiting room of the ER, my arm around her, her head lying on my shoulder, her tears soaking my shirt.  Brian sat on the other side of Sammy, staring into space, his face pained with worry.  It had been nearly a half an hour since Nick had been brought in, and we had heard nothing. 

 

Finally, a doctor came into the room.  He walked right over to us, and I realized it was Dr. Coleman, Josh’s doctor.

 

“Hello again,” he said, offering us a slight smile. 

 

We all greeted him.  “Is this about Josh or Nick?” I asked, feeling a tremor of fear run throughout my body.  I prayed nothing had gone wrong with Josh.

 

“Actually, it’s about Nick this time.  I happened to be down here when he was brought in, so I treated him,” Dr. Coleman replied.  “I’m so sorry all of this has happened in such a short time.  First Josh and your other friend, and now Nick.”  We all nodded sadly.  “Well, we got Nick’s vitals back up, but unfortunately, we did a chest x-ray, and the bullet is lodged in Nick’s heart.  If we don’t operate very soon, he will go into cardiac arrest again and probably die.”

 

“Do it,” Sammy urged, speaking for nearly the first time since we’d been there.

 

Dr. Coleman nodded.  “He’s being prepared for the surgery right now,” he said.  “Would you like to see him before we take him in?”  Sammy nodded eagerly.  “Ok then.  What about you two?”  He looked to Brian and I.

 

“I want to go,” Brian said.

 

“Me too,” I agreed.  “If you guys don’t mind.”  I looked to Sammy and Brian.  I knew they had deeper relationships with Nick than I did, so it was more important that they get in to see him.  But I cared deeply for Nick too, and I knew that this could be the last time I would get to see him.  Open heart surgery was risky, especially when there was a bullet involved. 

 

“No, go ahead,” Brian said.  “Tell ya what, Sammy, you go first, so you can spend some time with Nick alone.  Then Jules and I can go together.”

 

“Okay,” Sammy said.  “Thanks, guys.”

 

“No problem,” I replied, giving her a quick hug.  She offered a teary eyed smile and followed Dr. Coleman to Nick’s room.

 

Once they got to the room, Dr. Coleman quickly explained to Sammy, “Nick’s been sedated, and he’s on a respirator to help him breathe, so he won’t be able to talk to you.  He’s unconscious right now anyway, and I doubt he’ll wake up before we give him the anesthesia.  I don’t want to hurry you either, but we don’t have much time.  The sooner we do the surgery, the better.”

 

Sammy nodded.  “I’ll be quick,” she said and walked into the room.  Dr. Coleman left her to be alone with Nick.

 

Sammy quickly grabbed Nick’s hand and squeezed it.  “God, Nicky, I’m so sorry,” she said, her voice shaking with sobs.  “This is all my fault.  If I hadn’t have ran off on you, we never would have been there.”  She sobbed harder, unable to speak.  Finally, she regained some of her composure and said, “I can’t stay with you long, baby, but I just want you to know that I love you so much, and I’ll always love you.  Please be strong for me.”  She bent and kissed his hand, then smoothed his soft blonde hair back with tender hands.  “I’ll let Rok and Jules come see you now, ok sweetie?  Love you.”  

 

She choked back a sob and fled from the room.  She found Brian and I waiting outside in the hall.  “Go on in,” she whispered and ducked into the ladies room across the hall.  

 

Brian and I watched her sympathetically and then entered Nick’s room. 

 

***

 

“It’s time,” a voice said, a short while later.  I looked up tearfully to see Dr. Coleman standing in the doorway of Nick’s room.

 

 I rubbed Nick’s hand gently.  “I’ll see ya later, Nickers,” I whispered and stepped back.

 

I watched as Brian gave Nick’s hand a final squeeze.  “Be strong, Frack,” he said, his voice soft and shaking with tears.  “I love you, man.”

 

Brian turned to me, his blue eyes overflowing with tears.  I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly.  I felt his arms come around my waist, and as soon as I felt one of his teardrops hit my shoulder, my own tears flooded my eyes and dripped down my cheeks. 

 

We stood there, holding onto each other, as other doctors and nurses bustled around us, preparing Nick for the move up to the OR.

 

Finally, they had Nick lying on a gurney, ready to be wheeled away.  We walked out into the hall and waited for them to bring Nick out.  When they did, they gave all of us a couple minutes to say goodbye.  Once we did so, they wheeled him away, out of our sight, but not out of our minds.  I knew these next few hours would be some of the most difficult I would ever have to go through.

 

***

 

We all walked morosely back to the waiting room together.   We found Kessler waiting inside.  Brian’s eyes widened when he saw the police officer.  “Did you find Hope?” he asked, his expression hopeful.

 

Kessler smiled.  “Yes, we did,” he said.  “Your daughter is alive and well.  She’s here, down in the emergency room right now because she was very dehydrated, and it looks as if she received some blows to the head as well.”  Brian and Leighanne gasped.  “But don’t worry, she was sleepy when we found her, but conscious.  I doubt it’s too serious.”

 

“Oh, thank you!” Leighanne cried, her eyes shining with joyful tears.  She gave Kessler a brief hug.  “Thank you so much for finding our little girl.”

 

“Yes, thank you so much.  You don’t know how much this means to us,” Brian said sincerely, shaking Kessler’s hand firmly.

 

As the Littrells spoke with Kessler, Sammy watched on, feeling utterly depressed and alone.  She was so full of emotions she could barely sort them out.  Of course, she was happy for Brian and Leighanne, and for Hope as well.  She had been so worried about Hope too.  But finding Hope made her wonder more about her own daughter.  What had really happened to Megan?  Why couldn’t anyone find her?  Thinking about her lost daughter made Sammy feel even worse. 

 

However, most of her sorrow was focused on Nick now.  She loved him, with all her heart.  There had been times in the past, even in the recent past, when she had not been so sure of that.  But now she knew for sure.  Sammy just hoped it wasn’t too late to show him how much she loved him.

 

***

 

 

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