It was 3 AM. The narrow streets were deserted, the only living thing about a fox pawing at a newspaper in the middle of the road. A car suddenly turned the corner and hit it dead on, causing it to bounce down the road. A trail of blood marked its path. The car stopped and a car door opened.
"I think I hit something." Said the driver, starting to get out.
"For God's sake, it's only a bloody fox." Snapped the car's other occupant. His voice was low and gravely. "Get back in and drive, I want to be in that warehouse by the time people start getting up."
"Fine, fine." The driver got back in the car and drove away. A police siren wailed in the distance.
"Today's headlines: 6 teenage girls have survived yet another of Jigsaw's traps. The girls were kidnapped from their homes and found safe in a warehouse where Jigsaw is supposed to have carried out most of his so-called games. Jigsaw himself has not been found. In sports news Chelsea celebrated a 3-0 victory against-" Jigsaw switched off the radio and resumed pacing. He had to say he did admire the girls slightly for their teamwork-none of his other victims had managed that. No, they could get on with their own lives now. They weren't the problem. The problem was Hoffman. He kicked a table irritably as he passed it. How DARE he pretend to help him make people see how important life was to them, and then steal one of the most important parts of his?
Well, he was going to solve this. No matter what it would take, he WOULD get Amanda back.
"Umm…Hoffman?" The tall, gangly teenager with acne sprinkled liberally across his face peered nervously round the door. Hoffman started.
"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT KNOCKING?" He yelled,, shoving a few papers into his briefcase. He hated trainees-they were always the ones most likely to rush into something and get killed.
"S…sorry sir." Stammered the boy, blinking nervously. "But there's a young woman waiting out here. She says she needs to see you."
"Fine. Send her in." Hoffman busied himself with his papers again. Damn, he knew this would have to happen sooner or later.
"Is she your girlfriend or something?" The boy asked brightly, all embarrassment gone. "She said she knows you."
Hoffman closed his eyes-
The feel of her mouth against and her body pressed so close to his, one of his hands in her warm, silky hair, hers wrapped tightly round him-
"Just send her in." That was another thing he hated about trainees. They were always too goddamn forward. "And bring me some coffee, I'm parched."
"Yes sir." The boy left. Hoffman ran his hands through his already ruffled hair and pretended to be seriously engrossed in the contents of a long, awfully dull book on crime which would have convinced anyone that the best way out of reading it was to commit suicide.
"God, Hoffman, put the book down. I know you would rather burn it." Hoffman looked up slowly. Amanda stood there, her arms crossed and looking like an angry bull. She looks beautiful, even when she's pissed off. Hoffman thought dreamily.
"For God's sake Hoffman, pull yourself together. " Amanda snapped. "I didn't risk getting arrested for nothing.
"Sorry." Said Hoffman hurriedly, standing up. Even he knew better than aggravate Amanda when she was this mad. "So, uh, what can I do for you? Does Jigsaw still want those materials for the new traps, because I'm sorry but because of the recession-"
"No. I want to know what the hell you were thinking last night." Amanda interrupted coolly.
There was a silence. Oh God, I KNEW this would happen. Groaned Hoffman inwardly. WHY did I have to kiss Amanda? WHY?
Because you love her. Said a little voice in his head. He ignored it.
"I…uh…guh…" He floundered desperately.
"Hoffman, we were on a scrap run for Jigsaw, remember?" Amanda groaned.
Hoffman remembered. They'd returned empty handed to the car again. Amanda had looked so sad.
"Jigsaw's not gonna be happy, is he?" Amanda had joked, but her eyes had looked upset, and a little scared. Usually Hoffman would have come up with a cutting comment to start another argument with her, but she just looked so sad. Suddenly he was kissing her, and it felt so good he didn't want to stop. And that was when she'd slapped him. He'd reeled backwards, stunned, as Amanda had backed into the car.
"You BASTARD!" She'd yelled at him before speeding off, leaving him behind.
The slap still hurt. Knowing she cared more for Jigsaw hurt more.
"Amanda, I never intentionally wanted to hurt you." Hoffman said softly, cupping her face in his hand.
"No, Hoffman." Snapped Amanda viciously, swatting his hand away. "Either say you love me, or tell me to get out."
"Fine then." Hoffman hissed. He was too angry now to care now what happened. "I love you. I always have, and all you care about is that bastard Jigsaw. Haven't you noticed? No you wouldn't have. I've loved you since the moment I've met you, and the only way I could hide that was to pretend to hate you and pretend to be on your bloody team of psychos. Well, you know now. I love you. I LOVE YOU."
Amanda stepped backwards. She looked shocked.
Well, you've done it now, Hoffman. He said to himself. You're never going to see her again, unless she tells Jigsaw and gets you put in one of his traps.
And then she kissed him. And this time, she didn't slap him away. It was completely perfect, the taste of her mouth and the feel of her skin and her hands moving over him, making him feel so…so…
"Sir, I got you your coffee-oh!" The teenager stood in the open door way, blinking his eyes owlishly, his mouth open. The coffee cup slid from his fingers.
"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT BLOODY KNOCKING?" Hoffman screamed at the unfortunate boy, his hair messier than ever and trying to re-knot his tie, which somehow or other had come undone. The boy squeaked and ran out of the room. Hoffman sighed.
"Sorry 'bout that." He smiled weakly at Amanda. "Fresh blood. Never remember what they've been told." Amanda returned that smile. Hoffman noticed that she was buttoning up her shirt-had he done that? He wasn't sure.
"Amanda…" He began. She pressed a finger to his lips.
"Sssh." She whispered. "It's OK."
"Do you…?" He murmured, unable to quite understand this turn of events.
"Yes." She replied. "I do." She looked at the clock. "Dammit, I've gotta go, Jigsaw will want to know where I am."
"Yeah, sure, um, I'll, uh, see you later, yeah?" Hoffman gabbled. "I mean, that's if you want to, at least, I want to, but-" Amanda kissed him. He shut up.
"See you later." She whispered in his ear, and then she was gone, shutting the door behind her.
Hoffman stood in the middle of the room for a while, blinking at the door. He walked slowly back to his chair, and sat down. He stared blankly at some paperwork. If there was a God, he would be shaking his hand right now. Amanda loved him. Amanda loved him. Man, if Jigsaw knew-
Jigsaw.
Jigsaw.
Jigsaw.
Dammit, he'd forgotten all about Jigsaw. He frowned, trying to figure out what to do. He'd have to find a solution to the whole Jigsaw puzzle soon. Jigsaw puzzle. He laughed.
"Sir?" The boy was standing in the room. Hoffman gave him an evil look. The boy ran out and banged on the door.
"Fine. Come in." Hoffman growled. The boy came in. "What do you want?"
"She is your girlfriend isn't she?" Crowed the boy. He took one look at Hoffman's expression and fled the room before the next Krakatoa erupted.
Jigsaw glared down at the newly finished puppet. He'd have heartily liked to smash it to pieces, but that wouldn't do much good. He needed it, and besides, it didn't help heal a broken heart.
He really should have guessed when Amanda came back from seeing Hoffman, her face flushed and with a big smile on her face.
"Has he got the equipment we need yet?" He'd snapped. He'd been feeling especially irritated that day because Amanda had returned empty-handed the night before and didn't tell him about it until the day after. Looking back, he was sure he'd heard her crying…
"No," She said brightly. "We're still in the recession crisis." She giggled.
"It's not a joke, Amanda," Jigsaw growled. "If we don't have those parts, we can't make any new traps."
"I know," Sniggered Amanda. "But it cracks me up."
Jigsaw had glared at her and swept off, leaving her to stagger around laughing her head off. It had seemed strange, but he'd been to annoyed to question why Amanda was so happy. It had always been like that, he realised. He's always been too preoccupied with his on feelings to care about hers. He swore then and there that, if he succeeded, he would show Amanda he cared for her more than he used to.
That is, if she didn't hate him.
After he'd played a game with Hoffman.
All through work that day, Hoffman puzzled over what he would do about Jigsaw. However, he found he couldn't concentrate. Amanda's face seemed to constantly float before his eyes, and it made it almost impossible to think. Leaving at the end of the day, he was caught by Sergeant Kelly Brown, a 23 year old who had spent 5 years in the force. How did he know this? Jigsaw wanted to have her in one of his 'games'.
"They want you up at the military centre." She told him, flicking back her hair and fluttering her eyelashes-it was well known that she had a crush on him. "Some kid on a school trip almost started WW3."
"Yeah, yeah, OK." Said Hoffman absently, brushing past her and getting into his car. She leaned through the open window.
"Any chance we could meet up for coffee some time?" She breathed. Hoffman glared at her.
"Sorry. Got things going on. Bye." He drove off, leaving her looking after him. God, the sooner Jigsaw got her out the way for at least a little while the better. And besides, she was such a blond. Not that blonds were bad, Hoffman thought as he drove through the gates of the centre. She was just too much of a stereotypical view of one; all boobs and no brain.
He was met at the entrance by a young woman soldier-her name tag said Mary Evans. They exchanged salutes and walked into the building.
"The girls are being kept in custody for now." Mary stated metallically. She marched rather than walked; Hoffman was oddly reminded of a cyberman he once saw on Dr Who. "We won't be pressing charges but we will be keeping an eye on them for now."
"How long for?" Asked Hoffman, struggling to keep up.
"As long as necessary." She replied rather annoyingly.
They walked through a plastic-sheeted door to find 6 soldiers with close-cropped hair restraining 4 teenage girls. At least, 2 of the girls didn't need to be restrained. 3 of them were holding back one girl, and one of them had a cut lip and a black eye.
"AMY I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" The girl screamed.
"Come on Georgina, nothing that bad happened!" The girl that must have been Amy pleaded. She was sporting several bruises and being protected by one of the other guards. The other girl had clearly let fly; he had 2 black eyes, several scratches and seemed to be limping slightly.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Screeched Georgina, succeeding in freeing one arm. "KAT ALMOST GOT SHOT!"
"Yeah," Sniggered Amy. "That was well funny!"
"AMY THAT'S COMPLETELY EVIL!" One of the girls standing near the wall gasped.
"Shannon, it's OK." The ginger girl next to her smiled. "I'm fine."
"BUT THAT IS JUST OUT OF ORDER THOUGH!" Shannon shrieked.
"Not as funny as when that guide had a panic attack." Amy reminded her.
"Yeah, I've got to admit that was kind of funny..." Shannon smirked. "Hang on, DON'T YOU DARE CHANGE THE SUBJECT!"
"Damn, I almost got away with it!" Amy mock slapped her head.
"Ah well, at least you got away with painting Shannon's face while she was asleep at Georgina's sleep-uh oh..."
"KAT, WHAT WERE YOU SAYING?"
"Nothing, nothing..."
"AMY, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
"COME ON SHANNON, LET'S GET THE GIRL!"
"YAAAAAA!!!!"
Kat looked up and saw Hoffman looking down at the scene. Mary Evans had evidently left him to it-whatever 'it' was meant to be. She seemed to think he knew how to handle this. "Umm...guys...you may want to stop now..."
"Sorry Kat, but Amy seriously needs a bit of friendly forewarning about what she says to her friends." Georgina told her as she and Shannon advanced on Amy. The soldier had decided that things were getting out of his depth and fled. The others had made a run for it a few minutes earlier.
"By that I'm guessing you're going to slap me until I beg for mercy." Amy joked weakly, backing against the wall.
"Exactly!" Georgina grinned.
"Oh, right-HANG ON THAT WAS A JOKE!"
"HOLD HER DOWN SHANNON, SHE'S TRYING TO GET AWAY!"
"YAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
At that point, Hoffman decided to act. He walked briskly down the stairs and pulled Georgina and Shannon of Amy. He was quite a bit stronger than he looked, and that was what had given him the job of Head of the Homicide department.
"Will you please stop embarrassing yourselves?" He snapped.
"Hey, she started it!" Protested Georgina, pointing at Amy.
"Shannon dared me to press that button!" Amy whinged, curled up on the floor.
"Yes, but if Shannon dared you to jump off a cliff to see whether a plastic bag made a good parachute, would you do it?"
"Umm...depends on the height of the cliff..."
"AMY!"
"What? It's the truth!"
"You guys are sooo stupid." Kat groaned, rolling her eyes. "Why the hell are we arguing about this?"
"Because it's fun!" Said Shannon brightly.
"SHANNON, SHUT UP! THAT'S JUST EVIL!" Georgina yelled right in Hoffman's ear. He winced, but kept his grip on her.
"Georgina, arguing isn't a Jigsaw offence." Said Amy scornfully. "It's reserved for all the emo people."
Hoffman had had enough. "FOR GOD'S SAKE, STOP BICKERING! The girls immediately shut up. "FOR CRINE OUT LOUD, YOU ALL BASICALLY ALMOST STARTED WW3, SO I'D ADVISE YOU TO BE VERY, VERY QUIET UNTIL YOU ALL GO HO-" He paused. An idea was forming in his brain. "Hold on. Amy, arguing with friends all the time is a so-called Jigsaw offence because it shows you have no respect for the people who care for you."
"So what?" Amy rolled her eyes. "Jigsaw isn't going to care about a bunch of immature teenagers is he?"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING IMMATURE?" Georgina started struggling again.
"You of course, and all the rest of us!"
"I'm not immature-"
"SHUT UP KAT!"
Hoffman was so deep in thought that he accidentally let go of Shannon and Georgina. The two girls ran after a screaming Amy, whilst Kat egged them all on. He barely noticed. The girls, although rather needing anger management, seemed quite able to cope with hard situations. If they could cause enough trouble in one of Jigsaw's games, Jigsaw (as usual) would be too preoccupied with what was going on to pay any attention to Amanda. She could then slip away, and when the girls got upstairs-his pulse raced-Jigsaw would be out of the picture. He knew the old man was too prod to admit defeat, and Georgina would probably make short work of him Now, what excuse to get him out of suspicion? Oooo, he could be arrested for his fingerprints being found on one of Jigsaw's dead victims. Jigsaw wouldn't know anything until it was too late. Two birds with one stone: he could have Amanda, and stop others-including himself-having to live in terror of Jigsaw. He grinned broadly and stepped into the path of the frantic Amy. To everyone's surprise he hugged her.
"Thank you kid, I completely love you!" He grinned, and he spun round and ran up the stairs and out of the room. The girls stared after him.
"What the hell was that about?" Kat asked weakly.
"I don't know," Grinned Amy. "But someone has a crush on me!"
"Amy, he's waaaaaay too old for you." Georgina laughed.
"Ah, well," Shannon winked cockily. "Age don't matter when you're in a bed."
"EEW, SHANNON!"
"AMY, GRAB HER!"
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Outside, Hoffman was getting into his car. He was still grinning as he dialled a number on his mobile and waited for the woman he loved to pick up the phone.
"Amanda? Hey, it's Hoffman!" He laughed with glee. "I've had a great idea..."
Meanwhile, as Amanda and Hoffman were making their plans, Jigsaw was pacing up and down the main room of the warehouse. He was starting to get really annoyed with Amanda. He may love her-there, he'd just admitted it to himself-but she was always talking back at him nowadays, and it was starting to drive him mad. He heard a door open behind him.
"Amanda, you'd better have some ideas for traps for me, or I swear I'll-" He turned around.
It wasn't Amanda.
It wasn't Hoffman.
It was, however, someone Jigsaw had never thought he'd see again.
"You." He gasped.
"Hello Jigsaw." Said Dr Gordon Lawrence.
Gordon Lawrence walked in on Jigsaw swearing loudly and fluently in Chinese. He would never understand Jigsaw's interest in the Asian culture, but the language didn't actually matter when the cut on your neck has started bleeding an alarming amount of blood again. He ran across the room and examined the cut carefully.
"I'll have to re-stitch that." He remarked, and sat Jigsaw down and got his stuff.
"I TOLD you to take it easy for a while!" He groaned as he stared miserably at the damage.
"I don't have TIME to rest." Jigsaw snapped, wincing as Gordon began to sew up his flesh again. "I have WORK to do."
"Jigsaw," Gordon said softly."Just because Amanda has run off with some other guy doesn't mean you can't take time off."
"Just hurry up and finish." Jigsaw winced again. Gordon would never understand what Amanda meant to him. If he took time off, she could be gone forever. She might even be MARRIED. He shivered at the thought.
"Stay STILL." Said Gordon through gritted teeth. "I did warn you, though."
"Shut up." Said Jigsaw. But he had...
"YOU'RE ALIVE!"
"I know."
"YOU'RE MEANT TO BE DEAD!"
"I know."
"THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE!"
"The fact I haven't died from blood loss or have made a replacement foot shouldn't be possible, or the fact that Amanda is planning to run off with Hoffman shouldn't be possible, but they both have happened or are happening."
"I-" Jigsaw paused in mid outburst. "What."
"It's the truth I'm afraid." Gordon's face was impassive. "She's on the phone with him right now.
Jigsaw shook his head slowly. "That isn't true."
"Jigsaw, think. Amanda's been acting pretty strangely over the past few days hasn't she?"
Jigsaw laughed, a short sharp bark with no hint of mirth. "You're still sore about losing your precious Adam, aren't you? That's why you never wanted to get back to your beloved wife and daughter, you wanted to get back at me!"
"Jigsaw, please, I know you completely love her, but you've got to see past this before it's too-"
"Oh, spare me your stupid lies." Jigsaw laughed crazily. How DARE Gordon Lawrence, of all people, lecture HIM about his feelings. "You say blinded by love, I say bullshi-" He pulled himself together. "If you want to help me, tell me 2 more of Amy's friends; Amanda told me a few minutes ago that there needed to be 6 girls for this game."
"Jigsaw-"
"GORDON LAWRENCE, TELL ME NOW."
He told him.
"Jemma and Caroline." He replied. "Oh, and if you want 1 extra, there's another one called Coaralie." He shook his head sadly. "Please don't blame me when this all goes wrong."
"Oh it won't," Promised Jigsaw, grinning inanely. "It's going to be one of the most iconic moments in my life. Hoffman's promised me that."
"Well, that's all done." Gordon stepped back to admire his handiwork. "Right, either you take it easy for at least 24 hours, or you're going to end up bleeding to death."
"Whoever said THAT was going to happen?" Asked Jigsaw.
"One of these days it IS going to happen." Gordon said seriously. "You've almost been killed by exactly the same thing in exactly the same place, how much longer do you think your luck is going to hold?"
"I have no idea," Grinned Jigsaw suddenly. "That's what makes it so exciting." Gordon sighed exasperatedly and began to pack up his tools. Jigsaw frowned. "Gordon, the one thing I don't quite understand is why you bothered to come back and help me out."
Gordon shrugged. "I'm a doctor." He said simply."It's what I do."
Jigsaw glared at him, his piercing blue eyes sharp. "Don't even THINK about going homo on me." He glared.
"No chance, grandpa!" Gordon laughed, and walked out of the room.
Hearing that, Jigsaw closed his eyes. Jemma's comment still stung...
"Cheer up Grandpa, she was waaay out of your age limit anyway!" The girl called Jemma laughed. The comment was like a slap. Or a kick to the balls. Whatever it was, it hurt. Jigsaw covered it by losing his temper.
"I NEVER FANCIED AMANDA!" He screamed at Jemma, hoping to terrify her into silence. He succeeded, but it didn't shut Georgina up.
"Uh huh," She rolled her eyes. "That's what they all say."
That hurt even more; Amanda had said those words minutes before abandoning him. The anger and the grief became so bad that he was scared he was going to break down. If the girls had only known-Jigsaw! Scared!-but he'd survived cancer. He could almost certainly survive this. He lunged forward, pushing Georgina against the table. He held the knife ready.
"You are so dead kid!" He snarled. Georgina's lips twitched, and then he realised he's been tricked. She'd used his emotions as bait, and he'd run straight into the trap. For a brief moment he admired her scheming mind, but then the knife flashed up and sliced across his throat. Staggering backwards, he had a brief moment of déjà vu.
"Damn, not again!" He gasped, before falling backwards. Even with his eyes closed, he could still hear Amy's pathetic squeaking. For crine out loud, he was about to die, he didn't need to listen to her. Yes Shannon, he thought bitterly. There IS a load of KFC upstairs. I was going to share that with Amanda. A burst of pain went through him, but it wasn't from the cut in his neck. Out of all the things you can survive, he realised, a broken heart wasn't one of them.
Suddenly, he had a vague sense of being half dragged, half carried across the room. Risking opening his eyes, he was surprised to see the face of Dr Gordon Lawrence as he pulled the bolts of the side door shut. He could hear Amy banging on the other side.
"If you're my guardian angel," Jigsaw growled. "God must have a freaking bad sense of humour."
"Oh, shut up!" Gordon snapped. "If you want to live, then I suggest that you let me get on with stitching you up. The girl missed your main artery-talk about a cat with 9 lives!-but you're still going to need stitches."
Normally, Jigsaw would have made some comment about the fact Gordon was threatening him, not the other way round, but suddenly, he felt extremely tired, so he just let Gordon get on with it.
"I'm not even going to say I told you so." Said Gordon as he packed up. Jigsaw just sat there, silent. "Jigsaw?" Gordon crouched down next to him. "Jigsaw, you'd better not be getting depressed on me, because we really need to get mov-"
"Shut up," Snapped Jigsaw, getting to his feet. "I was thinking." He had been thinking, but it had been Amanda's face, and the ways he could seriously hurt Hoffman when he got his hands on him that he was dwelling on...
"Well, let's get going then. The police will be here soon."
The two of them walked out of the warehouse and went to the black car...
"JIGSAW I SAID TAKE IT FREAKING EASY!"
"Oh calm down, I haven't started bleeding yet!"
"With key focus on the YET part!"
Jigsaw and Gordon glared at each other. The half-finished trap lay between them.
"Fine, you want me to take it easy, I'll finish this, and you can kidnap Hoffman." Jigsaw growled.
"I AM NOT TAKING PART IN ANY OF YOUR FREAKING PLANS!" Gordon screamed.
"Fine, so STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!" Jigsaw returned.
Gordon pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jigsaw...have you ever considered NOT using a trap on Hoffman?"
"And what do you suggest then?" Jigsaw asked sarcastically. Secretly, he was intrigued. Was there another way?
"Couldn't you just go and talk to Hoffman?"
"WHAT?"
"Admitting your feelings to someone isn't a bad thing!" Gordon remarked. He smiled slightly. Sadly. "I found that out with Adam."
"SO YOU WANT ME TO GO UP TO HOFFMAN AND AMANDA AND TELL THEM HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS?" Jigsaw almost laughed. "THAT'S THE WORST PLAN I'VE HEARD IN AGES, AND BELIEVE ME I'VE HEARD A LOT OF THEM FROM HOFFMAN!"
Gordon sighed. "You could at least give it a try. It may work!"
To his surprise, Jigsaw gave in. "Fine, just get off my back already." He sighed. "I'll go this evening."
"You sure?" Gordon was worried. "So soon after those girls, everyone's going to be-"
"I SAID TONIGHT!"
"Fine, fine." Gordon muttered, backing out the room. When Jigsaw was like this, it would be impossible to make him change his mind.
Jigsaw smiled grimly. Gordon was so GULLIBLE. Yes, he would be going over to Hoffman's tonight. But for a different reason...smiling, he returned to the trap.
THAT EVENING...
"HOFFMAN HOW COULD YOU?" Amanda was livid. She'd already smashed most things, but now there was nothing left to break. Apart from Hoffman of course.
"Oh, come on!" Pleaded Hoffman. "You seemed alright with at the time!"
"YOU DIDN'T SAY THAT YOU WERE HOPING THE GIRLS WOULD KILL HIM!"
"WELL, HE'S DEAD NOW, ISN'T HE!" Hoffman yelled, pushed past endurance. He glared at her. God, why would she care that the old fool was dead? It had all been fine at first-they'd had sex, ordered a pizza, everything had seemed so great until Amanda had discovered his notes on The Plan. And all hell had been let loose.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ALL OF THIS?" She'd screamed, flinging the papers down on the sofa next to him.
It was true that Hoffman hadn't told her everything, but he'd thought what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Or him. But now, as she broke down on the sofa, he realised everything.
"Oh. My God." He realised. "You still love him!"
Amanda looked up. Her mascara was running. "Hoffman, I love you so much. But somehow, I love Jigsaw more."
"Loved, I think you mean." Hoffman sneered. "He's DEAD, Amanda, and I'm the one person here that cares for you just as much as he did and more and that's me." He leaned in to kiss her, but she slapped him away.
"JIGSAW IS TWICE THE PERSON YOU WERE!" Amanda yelled as Hoffman staggered backwards and tripped over the coffee table. "AND I KNOW HE CAREs FOR ME, HE JUST ISN'T SURE HOW TO SHOW IT!"
"You keep forgetting to speak in the past tense, you cow." Hoffman hissed, advancing on Amanda. "And in the right way, too." He raised his hand to strike her.
"I really wouldn't do that if I were you." Jigsaw threatened softly, stepping through the door.
"Jigsaw!" Amanda gasped.
"Dammit." Hoffman kicked the coffee table. He picked up his gun, and pointed it at Amanda. "Take one step closer, your girlfriend gets it."
"If I remember correctly," Jigsaw said coldly. "Amanda is your girlfriend." Amanda winced.
"Jigsaw, it wasn't like that!" She pleaded, looking at him desperately. He looked back, his eyes cold and hard.
"Who the hell cares about what it was about?" Hoffman laughed crazily. The whole situation was driving him mad. Or had driven him mad. Or was making him even more mad than before. "What does matter, Jigsaw, is I am going to get out of here, and Amanda is going to die." He took a step backwards.
"I wouldn't take another step if I were you." Jigsaw warned.
Hoffman shook his head frantically, the grin still plastered on his face. "Oh no, Jigsaw," He giggled. "I'm not going to be tricked by you anymore." He took another step back.
And the gun right above his head fired as the tripwire broke. Hoffman fired his gun on reflex, and Jigsaw dived on top of Amanda. As Hoffman fell, he landed on the remote for the radio. Supernova came on, oddly enough.
And I feel like taking off
Let me be your supernova
Before you make the biggest mistake of your life
Just give me the chance to get it right
With the very last of his strength, Hoffman lifted his head and looked into Amanda's eyes.
"Amanda..." He gurgled. And then he was gone. His head fell back on the wooden floor, right next to the unfinished pizza.
Jigsaw felt something warm and wet running down his neck. He looked down.
"Oh noooo..." He groaned. The bullet had skimmed the stitches on his neck and broken them. Again.
"Hey, hey, it's OK." Amanda said, looking around frantically. "I swear I saw some stitching stuff earlier..."
"It's OK." Jigsaw said, as Amanda finally found the kit. "Gordon Lawrence should be able to do it when we get back."
"He's still alive?" Asked Amanda incredulously, starting work. "Don't worry; I know how to do this."
He felt her slim fingers press against his neck, and he closed his eyes, smiling softly.
They got it all
They got all the things I thought I wanted
But I can't afford to fake any more
To live this facade and smile as the warm champagne falls.
Out on the lawn we pretend we're having tons of fun
In this world where we don't belong.
Some bloke all alone
Is she thinking of me, did she forget
What we once had?
And I feel like taking off...
"Jigsaw," Amanda said softly, not looking up from her work. "Why did you kill Hoffman?"
"I...er...guh..." Jigsaw was annoyed at his voicebox.
"Hoffman said exactly the same thing." Amanda smiled softly. Jigsaw opened his mouth to tell her everything, but again his voicebox failed him.
Oh they got it all
You can see they got it all
They got the cars the boat
And the beautiful house by the shore
And you know there's more
But I can't take another minute of it all
He wants his kids and the dog, he wants his breakfast in bed
He got his trust fund saved, not a worry in his head.
He's not you or me
I wanna break up the scene
And see you running back to me.
Cos I feel like taking off...
Jigsaw frowned. Most of this song seemed to be saying a lot of what he wanted to say.
"Jigsaw," Amanda pulled him back to the present. She looked sad. Beautiful, and sad. "I really don't know what to do. I love you, but I also loved Hoffman and...I'm really confused...I don't know whether I can still love you."
Jigsaw's heart almost stopped. He tried to speak again. Damn you, voice box. He thought bitterly. Then he knew what to do.
"Listen to the song." He gabbled quickly.
You got it wrong if you say our love is gone
You got it wrong if you say our love is gone
You got it wrong if you say our love is gone
You got it wrong if you say our love has gone
(You got it wrong...) And I feel like...
The two of them listened to the chorus in silence. Then Amanda turned to Jigsaw.
"You've been trying to tell me that a long time, haven't you." It wasn't a question., but Jigsaw nodded anyway. Amanda smiled. "OK then." And she finally kissed him.
A few hours later, if anyone had been awake and looking through the window, they would have seen two people, a man and a woman, leave Hoffman's apartment. They would have seen the man turn to the woman and kiss her by the car, and see the woman laugh happily. The woman would look flushed, tired but eagerly awake. They would have noticed that the man was a decade or so older than the woman, but when he smiled as he was right then, he looked a lot younger. And if the hesitant observer was incredibly observant, they would have seen that-before they both got in the car and drove away into the night-the woman was wearing a ring...
Supernova Mr Hudson Ft Kanya West.
Jigsaw+Amanda+Hoffman