Before the story begins I would like to thank Martha Kuhn for the title
and the idea of this story, I also want to thank my brother Joe for all his help.
I am hoping for positive feedback and constructive criticism. Thanks! This
story is rated PG13 for some language and violence.
"In The Hands Of The Enemy"
by Ness Stark
jeffstark@Juno.com
Mark Sloan woke up. He was still shaking from his dream. He hoped that
Steve hadn't heard him cry out. Steve had heard him once when he was a child.
That was the day Mark explained about nightmares,"the other kind of
dreams". Mark took a few deep breathes and brought himself back to the
present. He got up and began dressing himself, but before he put on his shirt he
touched the scar on his back.
Steve Sloan had been sleeping. His alarm rang and he heard a noise from
upstairs. A kind of a yelling, or perhaps a moaning. By that time Steve was
fully awake. Being a cop, he had the tendency to expect a worse case
scenario,and was already worried about his Dad. As he threw on some clothes he
reached for the gun on the dresser.
Mark was finished getting dressed. He started toward the kitchen, and
heard a noise. He pressed himself against a wall.
Steve had just came upstairs, his hand was on his gun as he made his way
through the kitchen. He heard a noise and stopped. It was breathing. He drew out
his gun.
Mark could hear someone breathing. He stepped out of his hiding place, and
was face to face with Steve. Steve yelled."Freeze!!" Mark gasped, but
quickly recovered.
"Steve! Be careful with that.." He said as he lowered Steve's gun
with his hand."You could kill someone."
"Sorry Dad..I heard a noise." Steve said, feeling like an idiot.
Mark laughed. Steve put his gun back in the holster.
"It's alright Son," Mark replied. Steve got a questioning look on
his face.
"Hey Dad, did you scream a few minutes ago?" Steve asked. Mark
lowered his gaze.
"Want some breakfast?" Mark asked, trying to change the subject.
"So it was you...." Steve confirmed. Steve gave him a
tender,questioning look. Mark again spoke.
"Are eggs okay?" Mark made his way into the kitchen and began
taking out pans.
"Dad??" Steve said giving his father a puzzled,scared look. Just
then the door flung open, and Jesse Travis and Amanda Bentley came in.
"Good Morning Mark!" Jesse greeted. He had a newspaper in his hand
and a smile on his face.
"Hey Mark, Hey Steve!" Amanda said, not quite as cheery, but good
enough.
"Company's here, we'll have to talk later." Mark said, as his son
opened his mouth to ask a question. Steve continued to give him a worried look
all through breakfast.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jesse Travis was worried. Steve had been by the hospital earlier and had
told him something disturbing. Steve had mentioned that something was wrong with
Mark,that he was keeping a secret,and wouldn't tell Steve. Jesse was worried
because Mark and Steve shared everything. He knew that Mark would only be
keeping something terrible from Steve. Jesse regarded Mark as his father. Jesse
cared a lot about him. He decided he would get someone to cover his rounds and
tag along with Mark the rest of the day.
Of course Steve told Amanda Bentley. And Amanda was even more worried than
Jesse, She had known Mark a very long time, she regarded Mark as her father,
Steve, and Jesse
as her brothers. If anything happened to any of them she didn't know what she
would do....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark was walking down the hospital corridor. He was on his way to see Mr.
Johansen.
All of a sudden there was a sharp pain in his back. He touched it and felt for
his scar. He decided Mr. Johansen could wait as he retreated to the doctor's
lounge. Mark got to the doctor's lounge and sat on the couch. The pain in his
back was subsiding, but he was still thinking about his dream. He was so tired.
He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You dirty cops! And you, Sloan's son,you think you can get away scotch
free, come 'here all give you something." A man said.
"You leave my son alone! He isn't what you want...." Lieutenant
Sloan yelled.
"You tellin' me to leave him alone!!?" The whip cracked once, then
again,and again.
Mark Sloan felt pain. He cried out as the man whipped him once, and again.
"Please, stop,please!!"Mark cried.He hadn't cried since he was a
little kid.He was embarrassed as the tears fell from his face. He tried to hold
them back, but they fell even harder. His 28 year old back bled as the whip
ripped into his skin.
"PLEASE!!!!! Leave me alone!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark woke up to find Jesse leaning over him. All the color had drained from
his face as he stood over Mark. Mark's heart was racing, but when he saw Jesse
he decided to act calm.
"Mark? Please answer..." Jesse asked, looking worried.
"Jess?" Mark asked. "Are you okay?" Mark asked, sounding
shaken.
"Are you?" Jesse asked seriously. Mark took a moment before
answering.
"I'm fine Jess, hey what time is it?"Mark asked.
"Umm...4:00" Jesse answered.
"Alright, thanks Jess.." Mark stood up, and his legs felt like
jelly. He sat back down and put his head in his hands.
"Mark..you're not okay." Jesse looked at him a second."What's
wrong?"
"....Just a dream, Jess..I didn't get much sleep last night, I must've
dozed off." Mark stood up and walked out of the room, one hand on his back.
Jesse stared at him a worried look on his face, Steve would have to know about
this. Jesse started toward the phone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That night Mark was up late. He heard the door open and Steve appeared in
the doorway.
"Dad?" Steve asked,obviously surprised."What are you doing
up?" Steve asked another question, a little alarmed.
"I couldn't sleep, you?" Mark asked.
"Tough case....." Steve said, sitting down at the table with his
Dad. Steve played a drumroll with his fingers on the table. Mark looked at him
expectantly. Steve noticed.
"What?" Steve asked.
"Well...aren't you going to tell me about it?" Mark asked. Steve
felt as if a 2 ton block had been taken from his shoulders. He had been so
worried about his Dad he couldn't think straight."Steve?" Mark asked.
"Well, this guy's after cops...." Steve began. Mark felt a chill
run down his back. " Two were found dead, and another is missing."
Steve finished. He waited for his Dad to answer. Steve eyed the expression on
Mark's face. Steve had never seen it before.
"What wounds were found?" Mark asked a little too seriously.
"Gashes on the back and the sides....the weapon hasn't been identified
yet..."
"Steve, be careful." Mark said, suddenly, in a stern voice.
"Dad, they want to put me undercover for this case.." Steve said.
Mark looked at his son horrified.
"Steve, you can't do that." Mark began.
"Dad, I'm a cop, It's my job." Steve answered.
"Steve, you don't understand.." Mark said looking down.
"Don't understand what?" Steve said, a questioning look in his
eyes.
"Steve.......the gashes..." Mark tried to explain.
"What?" Steve said. Mark shook his head. Steve started."Dad.
You can't tell me not to go without a good reason."
"Steve, I never told anyone this." Mark said.
"Told anyone what?" Steve asked, interested.
"The gashes, I know what they are, because I've had the pleasure of
receiving them." Mark said ,looking up. Steve was silent. Mark continued.
" I'll try to explain."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Son, you here?" Mark's Dad, lieutenant Sloan called out.
"In here, Dad." Mark answered. Mark's Dad walked to the kitchen.
His son was in there cooking up some kind of exotic lunch.
"Congratulations!" He said.
"For what?" Mark asked.
"I just got you a job." His Dad answered.
"I already have a job!" He said, happily."I now work at
Community General Hospital.I got the word today."
"Congratulations again. But this job won't interfere with your other
job." His Dad said mysteriously.He was suddenly very interested, his Dad
had a way of doing that, getting someone to listen to your every word without
saying much at all.
"Well........aren't you going to tell me about it?" He asked. His
Dad reached into his pocket, and pulled out a card.
"You are now Medial consultant for the L.A.P.D." Dad said,
proudly.
"Thanks Dad." Mark said.
"You're welcome." Dad replied.
"So Dad.. want some of this great food?" Mark asked.
"I think I'll stick to pizza, thanks." Dad said. The doorbell rang
and a uniformed officer showed up at the door.Mark spoke.
"Hello Officer, can I help you?" Mark asked.
"I'm looking for lieutenant Sloan." The Officer announced.
"I'm Sloan." Dad said,flashing his badge.
"Lieutenant, The chief told me to get you right away, we have new
information on the case you've been working on." the Officer said.
"I'll meet you in the car in five minutes." Dad said seriously.
Mark's Dad was strange that way. He could be a lovable, friendly guy one minute,
and a cold,hard working cop the next.
"Come on Medical consultant." Dad said.
"I don't know Dad,do you really need me? I don't know anything about
the case."
Mark protested.
"I'll brief you on the way there." Mark's Dad said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark and his Dad walked to the police car and sat down. The uniformed
officer got in the front.
"Okay Dad, brief me." He said.
"Well this guys after cops, six are dead, two are missing." His
Dad said. "The strange thing is they're disappearing two or three at a
time. Any ideas?"
"Something must be forcing them to go..." Mark said thinking.
"But what?"
"I don't know, but we better find out soon,we've lost some of our best
men." his Dad answered.
"Hey Dad, I thought we were going to the station." Mark asked
suspiciously. The car stopped, they were in an alley somewhere. The Officer got
out, and opened the door. He then pulled out his gun and pointed it at them.
"Don't even think about it Sloan." The "Officer" said
before Sloan could reach for his gun. They both slowly got out of the vehicle
holding their hands in the air.
"What do you want with us?" Sloan said toughly.
"You know what I want." He said. The man was anywhere between 35
and 40, but in excellent shape. The size of him was monstrous." Give me
your guns."
Lieutenant Sloan dropped his gun. The man looked expectantly at Mark.
"I'm not a cop." Mark said loudly.
"Not a cop? What kind of crap is this?!" The man yelled.Then he
quieted." Oh, well, Then I guess we'll just have to play with
you......." He said cruelly." Come on in, let the fun begin...."
He began to laugh. Mark and Lieutenant Sloan walked down the alley hands above
their heads, until they came to a warehouse.The Sloans walked in. Around ten or
twenty men were in the room. All holding whips. A man
lay bleeding on the floor.
"Mike!!" Sloan shouted. The "Officer" knocked the gun
against Sloan's head. He fell to the ground.
"Da-" Mark started.
"QUIET. or you'll be next." The man said. Mark stayed quiet. He
followed the men as they led him to a small enclosed room. Another man was in
there, lying on the floor, he looked unconscience or the alternative.They threw
Mark's father in and closed the door.Mark leaned over his father and felt for a
pulse.He said a silent prayer as he found one. Knowing that his father would be
okay he went to the next man and took his pulse. Within minutes the men woke up.
First Sloan, then the other man.
"Son.......are you okay?" Mark's father rasped.
"Fi-ine." He choked on the word.The other man looked to them. He
was pale and sickly looking.
"Marco?" Dad said recovering his voice.
"Sloan?" The man asked.
"Are you all right?" Dad asked.
"Peachy." He answered smiling.
"It's true what they say....you Are always in a good mood...." Dad
said.
"They'll be back soon..."Marco said. "Who's the kid?"
"He's my son....he's a doctor." Sloan said.
"We might need one a' them after they get through with us..."
Marco told them.
Just then the door swung open. A man came in.
"The dogs are awake,good...I'm ready to play." He said as his
golden tooth gleamed.The man walked first to Sloan.He picked him up with a
little effort and threw him against the wall.The he began whipping.Mark's father
winced in pain.
"You dirty cops! And you, Sloan's son,you think you can get away scotch
free, come 'here all give you something." A man said.
"You leave my son alone! He isn't what you want...." Lieutenant
Sloan yelled.
"You tellin' me to leave him alone!!?" The whip cracked once, then
again,and again.
Mark Sloan felt pain. He cried out as the man whipped him once, and again.
"Please, stop,please!!"Mark cried.He hadn't cried since he was a
little kid.He was embarrassed as the tears fell from his face. He tried to hold
them back, but they fell even harder. His 28 year old back bled as the whip
ripped into his skin.
"PLEASE!!!!! Leave me alone!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark stopped."I ca-n't take it anymore..too many memories,Steve."
"It's okay Dad......." He looked horrified.
"Steve....promise me.....you won't go.." Mark begged.
"All right. I won't go." He agreed still in shock. Just then the
phone rang.
"Hello? Hey Jess-yes. no. yes. no. uh-huh. Alright Jess I'll be right
there." Mark hung up the phone. "There's an emergency at the hospital
Steve ,I've got to go ." Their eyes met and held for a second. Then Steve
turned away and Mark went out the door. Steve went downstairs, he needed some
sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was 9:00 a.m. Steve was walking down an alley. He had blown off work and
started walking, and kept walking until he lost track of where he was. He was
thinking about his Dad, and wondering what terrible things had happened to the
cops that his Dad was afraid to tell him. He heard a noise. He turned.
"Are you a cop?" A woman asked.She looked incredibly frightened.
"Are you all right?" Steve asked concerned.
"No...It's my son,Zachary!!" She yelled."A man took him in
that warehouse! you have to help him...please!!" She began to cry.
"Which warehouse?" He said in his "I'm a big strong
cop." voice.
"Follow me!" She said running further down the
alley."Hurry!" She said when he
hesitated. He took out his gun and began to run after her.
"What's a woman and her kid doing in an alley?" He thought.Then he
brushed the thought away and continued running. They reached a warehouse and the
woman ran in screaming the child's name.
"Wait!!" Steve shouted. He ran in and tried to stop her. Then he
felt a sharp pain in his head. Everything went dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark, Amanda,and Jesse were at the table in the Doctor's lounge. As usual
Jesse and Amanda were teasing each other.
"So, Jesse exactly what did you and Susan DO last night.?" Amanda
asked playfully.
Jesse blushed, and Mark laughed halfheartedly. Jesse and Amanda noticed that
Mark seemed only half there. "Mark..." Amanda said putting her hand on
his,"What's wrong?" Jesse looked at Mark waiting for an answer.
"I'm just worried about Steve." Mark answered.
"And what else is new?" Jesse joked. Amanda gave him a look that
could burn a hole in a barn. "Sorry." Jesse said.
"Why are you worried about Steve?" She asked. He shook his head.
"Is it the case?" His look questioned her. "He told us about
it."
"Well...that's part of it.,plus I've got this feeling..." He
explained.
"Why don't you call him?" Jesse half questioned-half suggested.
Amanda and
Mark exchanged a look,shrugged their shoulders,and Mark reached in his pocket
and picked up his cell phone.He stared at it a moment.
"I'll call." Amanda assured him.
"Thanks Amanda." Mark said gratefully. Amanda smiled and dialed
the station. The phone rang.
"Hello?" A woman answered.
"Hi, I'd like to speak with Lieutenant Steve Sloan please."
"We all would." She said bitterly.
"What do you mean?"
"He hasn't been here all day.He never showed up.He's gonna get hell
from the chief tomorrow!"
"Do you have any idea where he is?" She asked,
"Like I said, he never showed up!"
"Thank you." Amanda said as she hung up the phone. She turned to
Mark with a puzzled look."He isn't there..he never showed up..they have no
idea where he is.." She said. Mark had a pale, worried look on his face.
"Should I try his cell?" She asked. Jesse jumped up,
"Let me do it." Amanda didn't argue as Jesse took out his cell
phone and punched in Steve's cell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three men sat around table they were playing poker,Steve's cell phone rang.
"He's got a call." A big burly man said.
"Answer it." Said the skinny one.
"You." The first man said. The phone rang again.
"I'll answer it." Said the Tall one."Hello?" He said in
a deep voice.
"Uh..Hi,Steve?" Jesse asked.
"No.This is Steve's friend. Matt." He answered. The other men
laughed meanly.
"Matt? Funny,Steve never mentioned you." Jesse said suspiciously.
"Really? We've known each other for years..." He said, as the
other men snickered.
"Is Steve there?" Jesse asked.
"He is," The man hesitated. The burly man whispered something in
his ear. The tall man smiled.
"Can I speak to him?" Jesse asked.
"Well,you could,but well....." The man said dramatically.
"Is he all right?" Jesse asked concerned.
"First, who are you?" The man asked. Jesse hesitated, then a
strange look came over his face, kind of a suspicious look, then a sly one.
"This is his brother, Jesse." He lied.The man moved the phone away
from his mouth.
"Damn it...the cop's got a brother." The man brought the phone
back to his mouth. "Oh, yeah, he mentions you often..but well,if you
weren't family, I wouldn't have told ya this..." The man spoke in his ear
again.
"What?" Jesse asked.
"Steve had one to many beers, he passed out, he's in the bedroom."
The man smiled evilly. Jesse was silent.
"Really......" Jesse said sarcastically.
"Hey,I'm sorry,but that's the truth."The man sounded so honest, he
surprised himself.
"All right, then, how about I pick him up?" Jesse asked equally
honest sounding.
"No! I mean, this doesn't seem like the kind of party you'd be into.
You sound too nice. Anyway it's kinda a private party."
"Oh, I see, I-" Jesse was cut off.
"Look I gotta go, but I'll make sure he doesn't drive home." He
said quickly.
"Hey,wait a-" Jesse tried again.
"Bye!" He said.
"Hey! Hello? Hello?" No one was there. Jesse shut off the phone.
He looked worried as he ran his fingers through his hair.
"Jess..what is it?" Mark said as he stood up and gently placed his
hands on Jesse's shoulders.
"Something, Is definitely wrong. The guy who picked up the phone said
that he'd known Steve for years, but when I told him I was Steve's brother, he
said Steve had mentioned me."
"Well, Jess, that doesn't mean much, people who've known me a while
don't necessarily know I have a son, and saying Steve mentions you often, might
just be courtesy." Amanda said.
"Yeah.. but he said something else too." Jesse then looked
uncomfortable.
"Jesse! what is it?" Mark said impatiently.
"Jesse, you know you can tell us anything." Amanda said calmly.
"He said..that they were at a party...and Steve had one too many
beers,they said he had passed out, and that it was a rough party,and exclusive,
so I couldn't come pick him up.."
Mark had an unreadable look on his face. Jesse had all almost the same look
"Mark, Jesse! You don't think that Steve, Steve of all people...he
wouldn't." Amanda started. Jesse looked at her uncertainly, then at Mark.
Mark's face changed.
"Amanda,you're absolutely right! We know Steve better than
that..." Mark said looking at Jesse.
"Yeah, We do don't we?" Jesse agreed. "But then where is
he?" Jesse said.
"Mark, Any idea where he could of gone?" Amanda asked. Mark shook
his head.
"Well, he was kind of upset last night....we didn't speak much this
morning" Mark said. Jesse and Amanda shared a look.Then Jesse spoke.
"Well, I have an idea...." Jesse again looked uncomfortable.
"Jesse!" Amanda encouraged him. Mark looked him in the eye.
"I promised not to tell.." Jesse said giving in. Mark and Amanda
continued giving him an exasperated look. "Steve has this place where he
goes, It's his own secret place where he can collect his thoughts, everyone has
one." Jesse explained.
"His life maybe in danger Jess, we have to look." Mark said.
"Maybe I should just go....." Jesse suggested,a strange look in
his eye.
"No!" Amanda said loudly, then she rapped her arm around
him."Jesse it could be dangerous,we are all going." Jesse looked at
Mark.
"Amanda's right, we all should go." Mark answered abruptly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This is Steve's secret place?!" Amanda almost yelled. Mark's eyes
were wide.
"What?" Jesse asked.
"Jesse! Can't you see that this isn't exactly the best side of the
tracks to be on!?" Amanda went on. "Where are we now? Oh my
god....Jack told me about this park! When we find Steve, he better get himself a
new secret place!" Amanda said.
"Who's Jack?" Jesse asked teasingly. Jesse's car stopped at a
small park. The swings were broken and graffiti was over everything. Mark,
Amanda, and Jesse got out.
"Jess, Are you sure this was the place?" Mark asked shocked.
"Positive." Jesse answered, a little nervously. The gang had
started walking across the park. Mark looked at his watch. It was 6:30. He
sighed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was 7:10 and the gang was at the end of the park.
"Alright."Amanda said tiredly."We've been through this whole
park....Steve isn't here."
The words tore through Mark's heart like a stake, not to mention the fear that
inhabited the hearts of Amanda and Jesse. When Amanda saw the tension she had
caused, she spoke again."At least...not..here ....I mean...he could be
somewhere...else.." Amanda stopped when she saw Mark smile at her.
"Guys, We're not exactly at the end of the line,yet." Jesse said
smiling as he pulled some vines from the fence that ended the park. To
everyone's surprise under the vines there was no fence. Jesse grinned."This
was,IS, Steve's secret, secret hiding place." Jesse continued.
They all stood looking at each other.
"Let's go." Amanda suggested as she started to walk through the
passage. Jesse grabbed her by the arm.
"I'll go first." Jesse said bravely. Jesse started to walk through
the passage. Mark grabbed the back of his shirt.
"I'LL go first." Mark announced. Mark started to walk through the
passage. This time both Amanda and Jesse grabbed his arms.
"We'll all go in..." Amanda said firmly."Together."
Amanda clasped Mark's hand and leaned against his shoulder, as Mark put his arm
around her. Jesse put his arm on the back of Mark as they all walked through the
passage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Steve Sloan woke up. His head hurt terribly. He longed for his father as he
tried to remember where he was. Slowly it all came back to him. "The
assignment,the story,the woman. The woman! Where was she?" He tried to get
up, but looked down at his hands. "Handcuffs. He looked around. His vision
cleared and he saw that he was in a room, with no windows. Jack really would
have flipped.." He laughed at thought of Jack running around the room,
screaming. He stopped."Focus,You've got to think.The woman,could she be
locked up here too? And her son, Zachary.." Steve's head was throbbing.
"Someone..hit me hard....very hard....they knew what they were doing...
Dad.... some one...help me...Jesse, Amanda...help, got to get
help..phone..cell...." With the handcuffs on, Steve felt his pocket.
"No gun, no phone, no badge....the woman....what did she say to me? Are you
a cop...Dad's story, and the case....could she be part of it? Got to get
out.....what would Dad do....too bad he didn't finish the story..." He
started to laugh again. "Stop Steve! You got hit real hard.....got to be
brave...just like Dad...." Steve looked when he heard a noise. The cold
metal door opened. Steve looked up and saw a man standing over him. He had a gun
in his scarred right hand.
"Hello, pig, I am ready for fun. Get on your feet. Now!" The man
watched as Steve struggled to get up, and when he finally did, He kicked him
back down."Enrico means now!" Enrico laughed as he watched Steve get
up the second time. Two more men came in the room, they were each carrying
something in their hands. Enrico pushed back his dark hair. The he reached into
his back pocket and pulled out one as well.
"You can't do this." Steve said weakly. The men laughed. Finally
Steve realized what the things in their hands were. The men lifted their whips
and stopped.
"Enrico forgot an important detail...." The man reached over and
pulled off Steve's shirt. Steve looked at himself and saw that they had already
had some "Fun" with him, while he was unconscience. Steve thought he
had regained most of his strength by now, and although he was a little dizzy, he
lunged for the men. The men pushed him down easily. He was no match for them
with the handcuffs on. The lifted their whips.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark, Amanda, and Jesse were walking down an alley. It was past 8:00 and it
was starting to get dim out.
"Amanda..you and Jesse should go home...I'll finish looking for
him." Mark suggested.
"And leave you here alone?" She asked surprised.
"I'll be fine." He said reassuringly. Jesse looked at him.
"Mark, you are not staying here by yourself." Jesse said, harshly
and firmly at the same time. " It is dangerous, and I am not going to let
anything happen to you or Steve." Jesse finished. Amanda and Mark gaped at
him. Amanda's eyes looked as if they would fall out of her head.
"What?" Jesse asked when he saw they were staring at him.
"It's just ...well...I've never....heard you talk so seriously....but
be so soft at the same time.....just like....Amanda started.
"Like, Jack." Mark said simply.
"Exactly." Amanda said.
"Who's Jack?" Jesse asked obviously confused.
"Never mind." Amanda answered. She looked down the alley.
"Let's go." She said. Amanda and Jesse looked at Mark.
"Well..Let's go." He agreed. They started walking again. Mark
heard a noise and turned around.
"Are you cops?!" A woman asked franticly.
"What's wrong?" Mark asked bravely.
"My son...Mike! He was playing in the warehouse with his friends and a
beam fell on him! I can't get it off, it's too heavy! I think it crushed his
leg!" She screamed.
"Which warehouse?" Jesse asked in his "I'm an E.R
doctor" voice.
"Follow Me!!" She cried. She started running. The three followed.
Jesse first, then Mark and Amanda running side by side. They reached the
warehouse. The woman ran in screaming the child's name. Jesse ran in after
her,then Amanda. Mark paused. He reached for his cell. A man came up behind him,
put the gun to his back and took the cell phone from his hand. The man led him
into the warehouse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The warehouse was dark. Mark's eyes slowly adjusted to the dark. He looked
around. In the warehouse there was a poker table,cards and all, and three
men,and of course the woman who brought them there in the first place. He looked
at the table again, not only cards were on it, but guns, cell phones,
beepers,and badges. The men walked up to Mark and started frisking him. They
searched Jesse and Amanda as well. They took away cell phones, pagers, money.
They looked confused.
"Where are their guns?" A big, burly man asked.
"They don't have guns moron." A tall man replied. Jesse gasped
when he heard his voice.
"Matt." Jesse said softly. Only Amanda and Mark heard,but that was
enough.
"Sheryl! These aren't cops." A skinny man reported.
"Hey, ya win some, ya lose some." She replied as she lit a
cigarette.
"You should check next time." The burly man said meanly.
"Hey,Big deal,I got lucky once, I thought I'd get lucky again."
She answered taking a puff.
"What should we do with them?" The skinny man asked.
"Lock 'em up. When the boss comes back he'll decide." Sheryl said.
With that then men grabbed them. They struggled as the men opened a metal door,
The skinny man threw Amanda in first, she landed hard. The tall man threw Jesse
in, Jesse skidded across the floor, The big,burly man threw Mark the hardest, he
smashed into a wall.
"Mark!" Amanda screamed. She ran to him, Jesse at her side. Mark's
head was bleeding slightly. Amanda held him in her arms."Are you
okay?" She asked.
"I'm alright..." He answered. The he became very pale. He looked
to the other side of the room. He got up and ran to the other end of the room
before Jesse and Amanda knew what was going on.
"Steve?" Jesse whispered as he saw the crumpled body of his best
friend lying on the floor. Amanda began to feel tears well up in her eyes,she
pressed herself against Jesse.
Mark knelt and gently placed two fingers in the hollow of his son's neck,
praying to find a pulse. Steve moaned, his head rolling back and eyelid's
fluttering. Suddenly he flinched violently away from his father's touch.
"Steve, it's okay. It's Dad." Steve blinked orienting himself.
"Thank God." He propped himself up on one elbow, wincing as the
handcuffs bit into his raw wrists. "How did you find me?"
"We had some help." Jesse said wryly. Amanda elbowed him in the
ribs and gave him a fierce glower, and he shrugged his shoulders as if to
say,"Well,we did."
"Steve, lie still." Mark commanded. "Does anything hurt
besides your back?"
"They knocked me around some when they caught me." Steve
understated. "But I don't think anything's broken, if that's what you
mean."
Mark pulled his sweatshirt over his head and spread it carefully on the
floor behind his son.
"Lie back on this if you can, son, so we can check you out." Steve
gingerly rolled over onto his back, the handcuffs forcing him to lie with his
wrists together over his chest. Mark quickly and efficiently examined his son,
with Jesse and Amanda looking on. " Looks like the damage to your back is
the main thing we have to deal with, Steve."
"I'll vouch for that." Steve gasped between clenched teeth.
"Can I get off it now?"
"Of course." Mark said, and all three leaped to help Steve sit up.
He sighed with relief. Amanda picked up the bloody sweatshirt and draped the
arms over his shoulders, then they all helped him ease back to a point where he
could lean, gently, against the wall.
"Lean forward a bit,Steve," Amanda asked. "so I can arrange
this." He complied, and Jesse took another good look at the abrasions and
contusions that covered Steve's back.
"What did they do to you?" He asked, horrified.
"They vented some deep-seated frustrations." Steve said with a
crooked grin."They're not real fond of cops."
"They whipped him." Mark said in a quiet, flat voice. "I've
seen injuries like that before." He answered the unspoken question in
Jesse's and Amanda's eyes."They're hard to forget."
Silence filled the small, bleak room, and no one knew quite where to look.
"So,I'm assuming the uniforms and ambulance are on the way?" Steve
asked, eyebrows raised, as much to break up the painful silence as to get an
answer. Much to his surprise, he was answered with more silence as Mark, Jesse,
and Amanda exchanged furtive looks. "Oh, Don't tell me..." He glanced
from one to the other to the other, but not even his father would meet his eyes.
He leaned his head back against the wall;;, closing his eyes and sighing deeply.
Then he opened his eyes and looked at the three of them again. "You're not
the Calvary, are you? Your fellow prisoners!" With apologetic nods, they
confirmed his worst nightmare."Terrific."
"Son-" Mark started, but was interrupted by the chink of the door
latch. All four turned and saw a sleek, dark-haired,olive skinned man framed in
the door way. The prisoner's eyes all focused on the Luger in his scarred right
hand.
"So, the cop is awake. Good. Enrico is ready to play some more."
He smiled brightly at Steve and jerked the gun barrel to the left. "On your
feet, pig. Let's go."
"He's not going anywhere with you." Mark said, rising and planting
himself pointedly between his wounded son and the gunman. The gunman quirked one
eyebrow up and sneered.
"And your going to stop me? An old man, a boy, and a negrita?"
Amanda bristled and took a step forward.
"No." Steve lurched to his feet and swayed dangerously. Mark and
Jesse each grabbed an elbow and steadied him. "I'll go with you."
"Steve, you can't." Mark said, horrified. He shook his head
earnestly at his son.
"What choice do I have, Dad?" Steve asked softly. "Get the
three of you killed and have to go with him anyway?" Their eyes met and
held for a moment. "Think of Amanda and Jesse."
Mark's hands dropped to his sides, his shoulders sagged, and he took a half
step back from his son. Jesse glanced rapidly from Mark to Steve and on to the
gunman, and then also stepped away from Steve's side. Steve pulled himself up to
his full height, squared his bleeding shoulders, and walked silently past the
gunman, who jabbed him in the ribs with the barrel of the Luger as he passed.
The door slammed shut and the lock clicked into place.
Mark walked slowly up to the door and placed the palms of his hands flat
against it. "They'll kill him." He said, so quietly that the others
had to strain to hear. "By inches." He closed his eyes and let his
head fall forward until his forehead was also resting against the cold metal
surface if the door. "And there's nothing I can do to stop it." Slowly
he started pounding his fist on the door, harder, then harder, until Amanda
said.
"Mark!" and squeezing between him and the door, wrapped her arms
around him and gently pushed him to the center of the room. Jesse looked around
the room, trying to find a way out. "Steve is strong, Mark. Everything will
be alright." Mark shook his head and swallowed. He walked slowly to the
wall and leaned against it.
"There's got to be a way out of here." Jesse said, a little
frustrated. He sat on the ground, and took a deep breathe. Mark sunk down
against the wall, until he was sitting on the floor next to Jesse. Amanda and
Jesse exchanged looks, and as usual Jesse furrowed his eyebrows in question.
"Mark, what did you mean before, when you said you'd seen injuries like
Steve's before?" Amanda would've given Jesse a look, but she was far too
interested in Mark's answer. Mark stood up and slowly pulled up the back of his
shirt. Jesse gasped. Amanda shuttered.
"Who did that to you?" Jesse asked, shocked. Mark looked Jesse in
the eye. "No. not these people..." Jesse reasoned.
"Not these people....but their organization...." Mark answered.
"A cop hating organization." Jesse finally got it. "But why
you?" Jesse asked, again puzzled.
"Why any of us?" Amanda said, answering Jesse's question.
"We have to get out of-" Jesse started.
"We can't...there's no way out..." Mark cut him off. Jesse looked
scared. He had never heard Mark talk like this.
"There has to be." He said, trying to convince Mark, as well as
himself.
"Jesse,there is no way.." Mark answered. Jesse decided to take a
new approach.
"I guess your right Mark..." Mark looked up. "We're all going
to die anyway..right? There's no use in trying to save Steve," Mark
flinched. "Or ourselves.." Jesse lay down on the floor and stared at
the ceiling. Amanda looked at Jesse, then at Mark. Mark looked at Jesse lying on
the floor, then his eyes lit up.
"That's it!!" Mark said in a loud voice. Jesse grinned, and Amanda
smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I will let you rest a minute,cop." Enrico declared. " I am
very tired."
"You will never win..." Steve replied.
"Really? hahahaha....after over forty years...I think not they will
stop us.."
"You're not even forty yourself....." Steve said.
"That is true. But my Father and his Father are above forty."
Enrico sneered.
"Oh, I see...a regular cop-hater family." Steve said, grilling him
for more information. "Why?"
"Do you really think..that I would tell you that?" He answered.
"Your minute is up."
Steve braced himself. Enrico brought the whip up in the air. The sound of
desperate screaming stopped him. Steve tried to get up.
"Amanda!" He yelled. Enrico gave Steve a sharp look, and hurried
to the door of the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Help!!!" Amanda continued to scream. Enrico and the three others
burst in the room.
"He's DEAD!!!!!!!!!" She screamed even more desperately.
"DEAD!!" The men looked on the floor. Mark lay there on the floor.
Enrico and the other men slowly walked toward him, leaving the door open. Amanda
and Jesse edged toward the door. Amanda looked at Mark one last time before she
and Jesse ran out the door, and closed it behind them. The door lock clicked
into place.
"Hello gentlemen." Mark said sitting up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We did it!" Amanda said happily.
"Yeah. We did." Jesse agreed solemnly, obviously wondering how he
could have left Mark in there. "Let's find Steve and get Mark out of
there." The two walked a little looking around, then they came upon a door.
Jesse looked at the padlock on the door.
"Where's Jack when you need him?" She said under her breathe.
"Who's Jack?" Jesse asked not expecting an answer.
"Steve?!" Amanda yelled in a loud voice.
"Amanda?" Came a reply. Amanda could barely hear it, but she and
Jesse knew who it was.
"Hang on Buddy!" Jesse yelled. "We're coming in." Jesse
looked around the warehouse and saw something. He started running toward it. It
was a large pipe.
"Jesse.." Amanda said looking at him. "You know you can't
lift that yourself." Jesse gave her a look and started dragging the pipe
across the floor. When he got it to the door he tried to lift it. To Amanda's
surprise it got off the ground. Grunting heavily, Jesse rammed the pipe at the
lock. Again to Amanda's surprise the lock broke off. "I didn't know you
could do that!" Amanda said.
"Neither did I." Jesse answered as he pulled the door open. Steve
was sitting on the floor.
He smiled when he saw them.
"I never thought I'd be so glad to see you guys." Steve said. Then
his smile faded. "Where's Dad?" Amanda and Jesse looked away.
"He's alright?" Steve tried to stand up.
"He locked in the room....." Jesse began. "With Enrico and
the gang." He finished quickly.
"You left him there?" Steve's look was like ice.
"We didn't want to.." Jesse said, shamefully.
"Steve..this isn't time to argue..We have to get to a phone..and get
help." Amanda said as Steve's look softened.
"Right." Steve said nodding in agreement. "Let's do it, and
get my Dad out of there."
Amanda and Jesse helped Steve up. They walked out the door with Steve leaning on
them.
They made their way to the poker table and Steve picked up the phone and dialed
the number of the station.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"He ain't dead." The burly man said.
"No crap, Sherlock." The tall man retorted.
"We've been duped." The thin man said putting his head in his
hands. Enrico was silent.
"The police should be on their way by now. Start practicing your
confessions." Mark said.
Mark smiled. Then stopped. "Where is she?" Mark asked.
"Oh..you mean Sheryl?" Enrico laughed. "By now she's probably
cleaning her gun.... she always does that before...well you know" He
laughed again.
"If she kills them, you'll be in even more trouble." Mark said
through gritted teeth.
"Not correct. If she kills them, she will be in more trouble." He
walked around in a circle, a huge grin on his face. " She will let us out
and then we will kill her. And the police will arrive and find us four, I
pitifully holding a gun, while saying "I didn't mean to kill anyone."
They will also find a dead doctor, three in fact, and a few cops...Sheryl will
take the blame, but after we are through with her..I don't think she will
mind." He laughed. Mark gave the man a look of death as he pondered what to
do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, well, well." Sheryl said as Steve, Jesse, and Amanda turned
around. "Hands on your heads.." They did as they were told, mostly
because of the gun in her hand.
"It's you. How's Zachary?" Steve asked sarcastically. She laughed
meanly.
"Too bad you're a cop..You're cute when you're angry." She walked
up gun still in hand, and stroked Steve's chin. "You wouldn't consider
dating me...would you?"
"You're a murderer." Steve answered viciously. Amanda gave Jesse a
look before he could say it, but he still thought it.
"That never stopped you before.." Jesse fought the urge to laugh
at his joke.
"Give it up..The police will be here in a few minutes.." Steve
threatened her.
"Yes..and when they get here, you'll be dead, and I'll be gone."
She walked up to him jamming the gun into his stomach. "Who should I kill
first- What was that?" She asked.
Jesse had a terrified look on his face, and Amanda and Steve looked puzzled as
they tried to figure out what Jesse was looking at. Jesse moved back a little, a
moan escaping from his mouth. Sheryl turned. The second she turned Jesse had
leapt onto her back. They fought, Jesse reaching for the gun. It went off once,
twice, three times. Sheryl fell hitting her head on the ground. Jesse fell with
her. Both lay on the ground, not moving. Blood was everywhere.
"Jesse!" Steve yelled. Amanda was silent as she stared at Jesse's
body. When she saw the awful look Steve had on his face, she started to sob. The
whirl of police sirens could be heard in the distance, as Steve walked to Jesse
and shakily felt for a pulse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* I know all you angels must be dying by now......keep reading to find out what
happens to Jesse!*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark, Amanda, and Steve sat in a hospital room. Steve sat on a chair, while
Amanda and Mark sat on the empty bed on the other side of the room. Steve was
reading a magazine, Mark was reading a book, and Amanda was reading a pamphlet.
"Ohhhh.." Jesse groaned. Mark walked over to him, while Amanda
stood up and watched.
"How are you feeling Jess?" Mark asked gently.
"What happened?" Jesse asked quietly.
"Do you want the long version or the short version?" Mark asked.
"Better make it short..I don't know how much time I have left
yet.." Amanda and Steve came closer smiling. Steve's smile faded as he
started.
"You did an extremely stupid thing and jumped onto Sheryl, who, by the
way, was holding a gun in her hand." Amanda continued.
"The gun went off and one bullet hit your leg, one bullet hit your arm,
and one-"
"I don't feel so well all of a sudden..." Jesse stopped her.
"You didn't feel so well then either,which is why you passed out when
the bullet hit your leg.." Steve said.
"What about Sheryl?" Jesse asked, doing his "I"m
confused look".
"As I was saying before...One bullet hit Sheryl, She's in ICU."
Amanda answered.
"What happened then?" He asked again doing his look.
"Then the police and ambulance came..Enrico and his men are going away
for a very long time.." Mark answered,nodding his head. Amanda looked at
Mark. "Amanda,I need to see you outside for a minute." Mark said,
obviously trying to give Steve a chance to talk to Jesse alone. Amanda nodded as
they left the room.
"Steve...why are you mad at me?" Jesse asked, as soon as they
left.
"Why do you think I'm mad at you?" Steve questioned, not looking
Jesse in the eye.
"I guess it's probably the way you're gripping the bed." Steve
looked down and saw that his fist was curled around the bed.
"I don't know Jess, when I saw you lying there...on the floor,it was
like a ping-" Steve was cut off.
"In your heart." Jesse finished.
"How did you know?" Steve asked.
"The same thing happened to me..." Steve cocked his head to one
side in question."When we saw you in the room....I thought maybe you
were.." Jesse stopped and Steve nodded to tell Jesse that he knew what he
was trying to say.Both men stared at the floor. Then to their surprise Amanda
and Mark walked in the room carrying a box full of chinese food.
"Dinner's on!" Mark said smiling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later that night, Mark was sitting at the table doing some paper work. Steve
walked over.
"Dad?" Steve tapped him gently.
"Hmm?" Mark answered.
"I want to know what happened." He said simply. Mark looked up.
"Are you okay with that?"
"Yes." Mark barely got the words out of his mouth when Jesse and
Amanda walked throught the door.
"Don't people knock anymore?" Steve asked humorously.
"We don't need to.." Jesse answered.
"Why is that?" Steve asked.
"We have keys." Jesse answered, as he and Amanda held up their
keys and jingled them.
"What?! Dad..you gave them keys to your house? I don't even have a key
to your house."
Steve said in bewilderment.
"We even have keys to your house!" Jesse answered, as he and
Amanda jingled their keys again.
"My house?...Dad? Isn't that illegal?" He asked.
"You're the police officer,you tell us." Amanda said.
"That's right, And you're all under arrest." Steve said seriously.
"How can you prove that's the key to your house?" Mark asked.
"I'll try it." Steve answered.
"Now that would be stealing." Jesse pointed out.
"Not if you dropped it." Steve answered.
"Have to catch us first." Amanda grinned.
"Children, children!" Mark said loudly as they began to run.
"No running in the-"
CRASH!
"Ooops."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End.
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